As the eternal optimist I say I am I believe we will not only survive this current health crisis, but thrive.

Hope in the Lord!
Be strong! Let your heart take courage!
Hope in the Lord! Psalm 27:14

Today, Governor Walz announced a 2 week shelter in place policy for all Minnesotans. He did so after looking at the statistics put together by the Department of Health and University of Minnesota. He asking all of us to make sacrifices to protect the most vulnerable among us such as the elderly and others with significant secondary health conditions. 

At first when I heard his plan I was thinking of the inconvenience for me.  I love being spontaneous and going somewhere on the spur of the moment.  As I thought some more I decided that 2 weeks would be a reasonable sacrifice if it meant saving the lives of millions  of others.

As I thought some more, I decided to turn this shelter in place as an opportunity to spend time with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I decided to grab journal and title it 'my journey.' I'm now excited by the prospects of seeing what my Lord has to reveal to me between the pages of the Holy Scriptures. 

I have a feeling that as I journal these next two weeks will go by quick and once again I will have the freedom to come and go at will. The question is whether I will continue the lessons of journal writing from that point on or will the tyranny of the urgent prevail?

Until yesterday I didn't know anyone with the Corona virus. Today, I do.

Trust in the Lord with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding;6 in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.[a] Proverbs 3:-6

I received a text from a life group member that requested prayers for their son-in-law. He is an emergency room doctor in a busy hospital in the Nashville area when in the course of his job he was exposed to the Coronavirus.  He, along with his wife and children, are being treated. 

Until yesterday, I had this thought that this was the media's attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill.  I was wrong.

This is a very serious pandemic that requires us to take seriously if we want to survive. What is disconcerting is how rapidly this virus is spreading from community to community by not only those who traveled to affected areas but by close contact with those with the condition who unknowingly spread it to others. As a public service, I'm disclosing information from the CDC website of the symptoms of this virus. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fsymptoms.html

As a Christian who has known Jesus Christ personally since 1974 I'm not afraid of death for I know that when life ends I will be escorted by my Savior to my new heavenly home.  Heaven is real, my friends. It is a place where there will be no dangerous viruses, or evil of any kind.

If you are reading this and are uncertain about your own eternal destiny I assure you that you can know simply by opening the door of your heart and inviting Jesus Christ to come in. Jesus died for you and me and wants you to experience abundant life not only here in this life, but also in heaven. You can know Christ simply by praying this prayer.

Dear Lord,

I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.

I believe that you died on the cross for me, to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and ask you to take control of my life; I give it to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.

I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you.

Amen.

Forbidden footage of actual location of Red Sea Crossing & Mt. Sinai

I love history and when I discovered this video on the crossing of the Red sea it inspired my faith
and brought God's word to life. Imagine, you were part of Pharaoh's Hebrew slaves who were lead to the encampment in front of the vast red sea. 

As you waited to see what the Lord would do you hoped and prayed that God would do it soon.

6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

Behind you, you could have sworn you heard the sound of many chariots but hoped your ears were deceiving you.

8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?

What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

In some ways, many of us would rather be enslaved to our superstitious beliefs, our past ancestral beliefs than to experience true freedom God promises to those who trust him.
Then Moses said to the people, ", “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

2 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging[b] their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw[c] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

God's people were rescued from certain death and their faith in God was renewed. Today, we have a Savior named Jesus who came into the world to show us the way. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus Christ came into the world to show us a better way than the rituals of our ancestors.

As we live these coming uncertain days of the Covid-19 virus, many of us are fret with worry and anxiety wondering what will happen to us? As a Christian believer, I can assure you that when you have Christ in your life God will give you the peace to get through the coming days and the assurance that if in the event your physical life should end that you will experience eternal life in God's glorious heaven.

Just as I did when I was just 18, I encourage you to pray these words to Jesus Christ who stands at your heart wanting so much to come in and be your guide: "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner who cannot save himself through good works, worldly accomplishments, accolades or diplomas. I know you died on the cross for my sins so I may experience true freedom in Christ. Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart and invite you in to help me on this life's journey and experience heaven with all of its glory when this life comes to an end. Just as it says in1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.


I can attest to the reality that there is no better way to live life than we have the refreshing aroma of Jesus Christ reigning in us! 

Just as God parted the red sea for the formerly enslaved Hebrews, God wants to be your rescuer.

Isn't it time to put your trust in the loving Savior?