The Building May Be Closed, But The Church Must Not Be Silent!

The world we are living in today has drastically changed since the end of 2019 when the world was made aware of the Sars 2 COVID-19 virus. It is believed this to have originated in Wuhan, China and spread like wildfire to the rest of the world. It is a viral infection and spreads just like the flu and common cold. What makes this one so contagious is that it is a novel coronavirus and new to humans. Novel viruses are often traced back to animals.

During this season the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed the need for people to wash their hands often and to not touch your face. We are also to limit our time around people who are not from our households including family members. It has spurred a new term called "socially distancing."

But what does this all mean for the global church family? What about your local churches? Most churches have taken the COVID-19 threat seriously and have closed their buildings to reduce the risk of the disease being amongst the flock and everyone becoming infected. Other churches have been in defiance and chosen to carry on as usual.

Yet the Bible tells us to not only have faith but utilise wisdom. A church in America was found to be at the centre of an outbreak which claimed many lives. People are socialising and throwing house parties because they do not wish to be told what to do. However, let us use wisdom during this time and utilise the technology we have and use it for good. Use it to spread the Word of God.

Many churches already stream their services live. If your church does not do so already please be that person to reach out and teach them how. There is a plethora of apps and services that can be used. Some of the most popular ones are Zoom, which many use for Bible Studies, Facebook Live and Youtube Live for sermon delivery and many more.

So now many Pastors and Ministers are streaming the Word of God live from their homes. The hashtag #ChurchOnline is proving popular on twitter. Christians have even taken the #FlippedTheSwitch challenge and changed it to #JesusFlippedTheSwitch to share their testimonies These hashtags trend on twitter often.

So you see the church does not have to be silent. The Word is there and the opportunity to reach your church community and beyond is available now. Even when the pandemic eases the use of tech should not cease.

Please check on the elderly and vulnerable. Help them get connected to technology so they can stay connected.

Don't forget to use this time to read the Bible and pray pray pray.

Book Review | Prayers That Move Mountains by John Eckhardt

I have managed to accumulate quite a few books from conferences and free offerings from various ebook platforms. I managed to get Prayers that Move Mountains by John Eckhardt free from Google Play when it was on promotion. It's tagline says : power prayers that bring answers from heaven.

Now I had not heard of Eckhardt before. He is an Apostle and overseer of Crusaders Church in Chicago, USA. His website describes him as an apostolic reformer. I checked what the paid for price was for this book and decided it was worth its freeness. Plus I have a longing desire to improve my prayer life. I have read the Bible yet still long for that intimate prayer life with my Lord. I often listen in awe of those who once they start to pray they speak so eloquently and magnificently. The way the words flow out of their mouths is like poetry to me. Those who have known me for years know me as a poet. Yes poetry and words were my life. 

The book begins with some questions for you to consider such as: what mountains are you facing? It then moves onto declarations faith. There are 7 sections. Each discuss a different prayer focus. 

1. The Prayer of Faith

2. The Prayer of the Righteous

3.The Persistant Prayer

4. The Prayer of a Contrite Heart 

5. The Prayer of the Destitute

6. Midnight an Midday Prayer

7. Prayer and Fasting.

For every section you get a Biblical explanation related back to scripture. This is then followed by prayers that you can learn again linked with scripture. So you are shown how to use the Word to pray accordingly. My friend had a look at the chapter I was on at the time and she found the few pages that she read amazing. 

I have read other books on prayer but I do feel this one really teaches me a few things. I have enjoyed this book thoroughly. Now I have probably 50 more to get through. If you know of any good books please leave a comment below. 

Stay Blessed!

Study Bibles

I have always wanted a decent study Bible. One that could help me a get a deeper meaning of what is being read. I already owned the TD Jakes Woman Thou Art Loosed edition of the BIble. It is filled with study bits and what it calls pearls of wisdom. Though compared to my Amplified Bible it does not give the extra's I needed. Having said that my friend reads the copy I bought her everyday.

So I finally took a trip t Wesley Owen Book store and bought myself a brand new study Bible. The lovely assistant helped me choose and showed me many of the study Bible's on offer. I ended up buying the Life Application study Bible New Kings James Version (NKJV).  The beginning has a family tree section so you could add your family history I guess to pass the Bible on through generations. Then it has a chronology of Bible and world events. This is followed by the books of the Bible. Under each page is a footnote with detailed explanation for the verses above. These are quite easy to follow. 

At the back of the book is a 365 day reading plan, abbreviations to index notes, index notes, dictionary and colour maps. So I think I have definitely bought a good study Bible. I need to use this more and more each day. To further my studies I wish to attend my church's Bible study class. This is provinh difficult because of the time and lack of support at home. However my sis in law who this year has become a regular church attendee wants to attend to so we will see what we can plan so we both can go.

Do you use a study Bible if so which one? I chose to stick with King James because its the text I was brought up on and find easier to understand. NKJV does not read too different from KJV for me.

.com and hopefully changes will come

I bought .com name for my final blog. This time I bought it through google just to simplify the process. I am hoping to update this blog which has been somewhat neglected.

I am still praying and yearning for that spiritual connection. Even more so keener now that my friend got baptised recently and she understood me. So fingers crossed it could be this year. Who knows.

As for this blog I will begin to reflect on my spirituality more often. I am also keen to find out what would make you read this blog more often or even refer it to a friend. Are there any blogs out there that I should be checking out? Please let me know.

Purposefully

I completed Purpose Driven Life a while ago. It has taken me on a journey of understanding and has helped me to put some things into perspective. I really enjoyed reading Purpose Driven Life. Because it was so centred around discovering God's purpose for your life and you being or going through a journey. Towards the end of the book on day 40, I was so exhausted in just getting on in life that I fell asleep before I could read. Though I made sure that I read it the next day without fail. I did not complete The Secret. it became boring as it just seemed to centre around the Universe and although it contained quotes from the Bible, it just didn't have that edge for me. I am told I should watch the DVD. i might one day.

My Blackberry is proving more useful everyday. My friend sent me a link for an application that allows me to access the Bible on my phone on the go. It is called YouVersion and you can download this application for many phone models. My Blackberry now has the Holy Bible on it. You get daily reads and can specify which version you wish to read and switch between them. One of my twitter pals also recommended Olive Tree as another useful application.

Right now I am still pretty much doing my best to think in faith. I have a friend at work who is a non practicing muslim. We were having a conversation at the Coffee Bar at work. He lives across the street from my church so I always extend an invitation to him. Somewhere along the line in our conversation I said to him "God is omnipresent, God is everywhere!" I noticed the guy behind us was smiling and quitely chuckling. Nothing horrible. We often have these conversations and although it may seem like we are having a laugh, I am serious. Messages get delivered in many ways and guises. You just do not hear this conversation all the time and not at work. I have similar conversations all the time.