Keep Christ close in difficult times

We are experiencing life like we have never seen it before. This threat of Covid-19 is hitting us like nothing we have ever known. It is on a path to shut down our lives and quarantine us in our homes for an indefinite period of time. All this is precautionary so that we don’t experience a lot of deaths. 
     But don’t lose hope in who you are and in the God that has claimed you as His own. This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your family to dive into a closer relationship with God. Take advantage of some of this time that you have at home to sit together and read the Bible. Then discuss what you have read and what it means for you personally. Join together in prayer and share with God what you are feeling and thinking.
     Martin Luther once wrote a simple little booklet (A Simple Way to Pray) for his barber who had requested guidance on strengthening his prayer life. Luther suggested that he should read a portion of Scripture or the Catechism and then read it again a second time and pay attention to which words seem to have greater meaning for him and his family. Talk about these words and what they might mean for him. Then follow this little format for a follow-up prayer:  “I. T. C. P.”; I is for Instruction; T is Thanksgiving; C is Confession; and P is Prayer.
     Instruction means to repeat back to God what you believe He is teaching you in what you have read and how that teaching is to apply to your life.
     Then offer Him thanks for the teaching and whatever else you have to be grateful for.
     Confession is an opportunity to acknowledge your sins in general or to address something specifically to your reading.  Confession also might be simply listing some of the things that you believe about God and what He has done for you.
     Finally, put forth your requests to God for yourself and the rest of the world. If you allow each person in your family to contribute where they are comfortable, this can become a very rewarding and positive experience for everyone.
     After all, this is what worship is all about: God sharing with His people the words of life and salvation that we need to be at peace with Him.
     The Bible is also filled with real life experiences of people trying to deal with life on their own terms (without the wisdom of God) and those who with the power of the Holy Spirit allow God to train them in His ways. The latter are those who experience peace and joy much more than those who do their own way.
     During this time of upheaval in our lives, don’t allow anything to distract you from worship and the building of your relationship with God. It is during times like this that our relationship with God is most important for you and your neighbors.
     If you choose not to gather for worship in church, please make a point to do it at home as often as you can. It can be as formal as you like with lighting candles or simply sitting around a table and following Luther’s example for prayer. You will not be disappointed because God will be with you just as He has promised.