​The question that is being asked everywhere is the elephant in the room. “Why are people getting the coronavirus?” We do not have an answer to that, but it is happening before our eyes. I could not tell you why people get the flu, pneumonia, respiratory infections, heart attacks, or have other tragedies. I do not know why children and adults come down with cancer. I do not know, and no one can with certainty know, that which God has not revealed to us. We do know we live in a world filled with germs, and other such things that are not beneficial to our physical health.
 
No nation or person is exempt from suffering. Why do terrible things happen? The Scripture does not give us affirmative answers to many of our questions. As believers, we understand we live in a world that has a serious sin problem. We understand what God has done to provide the world an opportunity to be healed and cleansed of sin’s condemnation. We are reminded to pray in our pain. When suffering comes to us, to a country, to a nation, we tend to think more about death. Many things around us have been shaken of recent. The stock market has been shaken. When the common things we have been use to are taken away, let us remember God is not shaken. We may know there is value in prayer, but we need to pray. Prayer does not mean we will not get sick and suffer. What prayer will do, is show our dependence on God who has promised to be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 20:20).

Clark Tatum

1 Peter 1:1-2 reads: Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:  Grace and peace be yours in abundance.  The words strangers, foreigners, sojourners are words that help us understand how Peter is describing the Christians of his day.  Since a Christian's highest citizenship is in heaven, we are strangers here.

We sing the words this world is not our home I am just a passing through and that is true.  Our citizenship is in heaven and that's where our eternal home is with God.  The real difference between Christians and others is not in a country, language, or even in different customs.  The difference comes down to being Christ-like (Romans 12:1-2).  We live and work in the world, but we too are strangers.  At times we don't speak the language of our culture because it is foreign to us.  We do not value what others value because it is foreign to us.  We do not value what others value because the world is not our home.  We make future, eternal investments.  While we are stranger's here, we live with the assurance, that by God's grace we have an eternal home.

Clark Tatum

     It is amazing how something so small can bring things to a halt. One little key can make the difference from being able to get into your house or office. One key lost or misplaced can keep you from getting from point A to B. The small key you keep in your pocket gives you access to your car, home, or office. Without that piece of metal that goes into the doorknob you will have to wait for someone to bring a backup key. The little key is important!
     If you have a lawnmower and the little plastic center breaks on the rear wheel, it will render the machine unusable. A little piece of plastic the size of a half dollar that probably costs less than that to make, but without it the mower is as useless as to its effectiveness. You don’t think much about the little piece of plastic on the wheel before it breaks and then that’s all you can think about. The bottom line is without this fifty-cent piece of plastic, your mower is sidelined. The absence of one part, seemingly small part, can greatly delay the machine. It is the same way in the ministry. Every member is vital. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body (1 Corinthians 12:12a).

Clark Tatum

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     Hebrews 2:1 says, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” I do not understand why the fly paper in the corner of my garage kept catching flying insects. I don’t know why because you would think that a fly would figure out from his fellow flies that this isn’t a safe place to land. You’ll get stuck here—don’t stop here, but inevitably the fly paper keeps catching flies. Satan’s traps are similar in that they are often subtle, but they have quite a stick to them.
     ​You would think we might figure Satan’s traps out and do everything we can to help one another avoid the sin mistakes we have made. It’s like Satan says, “You can do this and be OK. You will not be there long enough to get hurt. You can do this and still be Ok with God.” That’s when the spiritual drift begins. Let us be careful not to drift away from what we have seen and heard. Mark it down, Satan will not tell you I want you to sever all of your Christian relationships and separate yourself from the church, but he will try to get you to drift away. The people that will go to Heaven are those who entertain no part of compromise of God’s Word. They are those who make no bargain with the Devil. Do not allow yourself to slip away from the salvation you have graciously received through Jesus. Do not ignore such a great salvation (Hebrews 2:3).

Clark Tatum

Clark Tatum