In most of the emails that I have sent out to friends or strangers during this time when the COVID-19 virus has been rampaging in the world, I have requested that people pray to God for success for scientists who are striving to develop medication, serum, or injection to counter the virus.

It is a trying time that we are living in. We very much need our God to help us.

The grand old hymn beginning with How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord," continues:

Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed!
I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply:
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not — I will not desert to His foes.
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never — no never — no, never forsake!

We can trust God and obey Him as Abraham did:

Hebrews 11:8-9 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

Just as God was with Abraham, so Jesus promises us, "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matthew 28:20b)

So, we can echo, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid" (Hebrews 13:6), and add, "We have no help to compare with Yours, so we love You, our Father God."

Prayer: Lord God, cause that we will so trust You that we will not be afraid, for we see You as Helper through the ages, and as our Helper now. Cause us to depend on You and call upon You for Your help for the days in which we live, for we know that You love us and care. Amen.

One morning, I stared at the neighbour's big, orange cat, a veteran birder, prowling like a lion up the side of a scruffy maple, higher than most cats go. What was he after? Then, I saw the wood ducks just above him. Ohhh! And they flew just in time. The cat descended.

Peter warns Christians, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV). How true, not only 2000 years ago, but today! Christians are among those suffering from unscrupulous pursuers acting on the devil's false beliefs.

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" says James (James 4:7b). How should we resist? We might resist by sponsoring some people's move to safer Canada. But even though this could have far-reaching, positive results, it seems to be help for so few, among so many in dire need in the world. We can also resist in accord with God's will through knowledge of the Word of God, and by praying in accord with the Spirit of God. Remember Jesus teaching His disciples to pray to His heavenly Father: "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

Also, through the Word of God, we discover the will of God. "All Scripture," wrote Paul to Timothy, "is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

A guideline that we find in the Scriptures in various forms is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." With it, is "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30-31), and Jesus' words, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).

What would you and I want fellow Christians of the world to do for us if we were sitting in a shelter half-starved and not knowing if enemies were coming upon us before morning? (We might at the same time remember that many Christians of the world are compromising their health by getting too fat!)

We can support Christian organizations that offer both physical and spiritual help. We can find ways to help suffering people within their own countries. And we can pray for "all those in authority" (1 Timothy 2:2a NIV) in all countries.

Prayer: Lord God, cause us to have compassion and to pray at all times. Help us to pray for those who will not pray. Cause us to pray for those undergoing all manner of suffering. We pray especially for those boldly proclaiming Your name as Saviour and Lord in places where they might lose their lives for doing so. Shelter them under Your mighty hand. Help us to remember that You, Jesus, have promised to provide a way of escape. Amen.

Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NIV)

Joy set before him … What joy?

Can it be that the writer is suggesting that Jesus' joy was in the salvation that Jesus was securing for us by dying and rising to open up His new and perfect way that He has given us in the gift of faith? Could it be that Jesus, on the cross, was envisioning all of us people of faith being with Him, enjoying heaven forever because He was cancelling our sin-debts with the sacrifice of His own life? Amazing!

What does this say to us in our current time here on earth, before we are in heaven? Jesus' disciple, Peter, wrote about Jesus:

1 Peter 2:24 – He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (NIV)

Jesus has healed us by setting us free from the power of our sin-burden of guilt. He has gifted us with good news of joy to share, and righteous deeds of love to pass on.

Joy, joy, joy,
With joy my heart is ringing.
Joy, joy, joy,
His love to me is known.
My sins are all forgiven,
I'm on my way to heaven.
My heart is bubbling over
With His joy, joy, joy.
       – From a Zulu chorus

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (NIV)

God forgave my sin in Jesus' name;
I've been born again in Jesus' name.
And in Jesus' name I come to you
To share His love as He told me to.
He said, "Freely, freely you have received;
Freely, freely give.
Go in My name and because you believe,
Others will know that I live."
       – Carol Owens

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for enduring the cross for our sake to purchase heaven's joys for us, for time without end. Thank You for giving us Your work to do on earth in the time that is now. Please guide us in sharing Your way of love so that others will know that You are alive and that You will give them life, too. Amen.

I read of a man who felt that his life was so riddled with sin that there was no hope for him.

He felt contaminated by sins that a person had committed against him away back when he was seven years of age. He felt hopeless — he was going to hell. Too, he felt that there was no redemption for him from the personal sins that he had committed all his life. He thought that he was unforgivable. He raged at God. When his son became seven years of age, he raged at his son. He raged at his wife.

Then came the day when he fell on his knees at his bedside and asked for forgiveness. "Cleanse me; take over my life," he prayed. He had not previously believed that Christ would come into his life. But now Jesus' Spirit was in him. He began to see more and more of God's love in Jesus his Saviour.

Ephesians 2:3b-10 – Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

A Webster's dictionary shows that a meaning of grace is "the unmerited love and favour of God toward man."

Let us absorb more and more of His Word, through reading and hearing the Bible, and so enjoy more and more of His way.

Prayer: Lord God, please guide us in becoming the people You want us to be. We thank You for Your favour to each of us as we learn of Your love through Your Word, the Bible, and through associating with Your loved ones. Amen.

In front of Grandpa was that great, glowing, tan turkey, whole. And Grandpa sat there, asking each of us in turn what piece we wanted, carving it off for us. On this the first Christmas of my memory, I was seated two or three persons up the table from Grandpa's left, a little girl of about three, and it was my turn to say what I wanted. I hesitated, for I hadn't known such a choice could be mine. I suppose that at home I had received in my bowl what my parents considered suitable. So, I was helped in my decision by my mother from across the table, and by several aunts, uncles, and cousins all talking at once until some meat was placed upon my big plate.

Today, I'm glad that among all the Christmases, that first one for me was a time when I was given a choice. No doubt, the very gift of choice gave me the consciousness necessary to remember the moment.

Likewise, God, by giving us human beings personal and ultimate choices, both creates and affirms our personhood.

Through the ages, leaders with divine mandates have been aware that persons have the power to make great choices. Joshua, of Old Testament times, offered the Israelites a choice: "Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15 ESV)

Still today, many people don't know that they can make ultimate choices such as whether or not to serve God. Some fear an ominous and fixed fate that they imagine binds them forever into being acted upon (especially in relationship with God), and never having power to decide.

Yet, we have the God-given right to choose to serve God because God has chosen us in the first place. The apostle Paul wrote, "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ" (Ephesians 1:4 NLT). We can make the choice to accept God's choosing of ourselves.

Christmas helps us to know that Jesus came to the world as Emmanuel, God with us, to embody and enlighten our choosing.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for choosing us and for giving us free will to choose You as our Saviour, redeemer, and guide. Enlighten all of our choices, for Your name's sake, and help us to influence for You all whom we encounter. Amen.

Years ago, my uncle walked from his workshop — the behind-the-hedge kitchen piece of the former old farmhouse — then he came out across the grassy house yard and into the kitchen of the newer house. He held out his hammer to me. He knew that he was dying of cancer. "I want you to have my hammer," he said. The claw hammer was a bit heavier than average, with a solid, time-smoothed wooden handle. He said, "I won't be needing it where I'm going." I gratefully accepted it.

Jesus Christ knew that He was soon to leave the earth. He knew that He had gifts to give us in the world:

He had His life to give. He said, "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18)

Jesus knew that through Himself, God had not just day-to-day life to give to us, but also eternal life. Jesus knew that He would give His life to ransom us from the damnation of evil. He said of Himself, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). His promise is, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish." (John 10:28a)

Since He was about to leave this world, He promised us, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17a). "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26)

Jesus reassures us with yet another gift: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

Let us accept with gratitude all of Jesus' gifts, and share them with many.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for showering us with all of these gifts, especially the gift of Your Holy Spirit to be with us forever. Thank You for the peace of Your promise of eternal life with You in heaven forever after death. Thank You for saying, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Please continue to lead us into all truth. Please protect us from Satan's schemes. Amen.

One bitterly cold morning, when I had an early appointment at a hospital a distance from home, I got into my car in my garage and turned the key — only a flash of red light. I tried several times, but no start. I walked toward my kitchen door to go in and call for help, but was given a sudden urge: I stopped, turned back to my car and tried again. And it went, getting me the sixteen miles on time.

After the appointment, I got into my car in the parking lot. Not even a flash. A nearby man took extension cables from the back of his truck and boosted my car. It started immediately. Knowing that my battery was very old, I drove directly to a hardware that installed a new battery. All was well. Safe home.

God loves to bestow blessings upon His people. I thank Him for these: the urge to try again, the placing of the kind man and his truck with booster cables near my car, and that I got safely to the hardware, then home.

Hymns celebrate such goodness of our Lord:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

And we are all challenged in this one:

Count your blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your unfailing goodness in meeting all of our needs. Above all, we thank You for giving us Your beloved Son to live on earth, as a human being with us human beings, then to die to cancel out all of our sins and give us eternal life. Lord, cause us to glorify You in all of our living. Amen.