The Revolutionary Cross of Christ!
Every Thursday evening at 8pm during the first lockdown, many people joined together across the Country with clapping their hands & making a noise as a sign of genuine gratitude for all the hard work that our health professionals had given to so many during this serious pandemic.
Sunday 5th July 2020 marked the 72nd birthday of our National Health Service where we once again offered up our deepest gratitude to all the vital help that we have been given in this Country.
Many of us have seen the familiar sign of the rainbow that has gone up all over our communities as an encouragement to not give up hope that there is a better day ahead.
As a devoted follower of Jesus the rainbow reminds me of the hope spoken of in the Bible in the days of Noah - that anyone can find real hope through trusting in Jesus Christ.
There is another picture included above in this article, which may have caught your attention….
It is a reminder that there has been an amazing World Health Hero who has come to help us with a pandemic that the whole of humanity has been plagued with from the beginning of the human race - that pandemic is called Corona Me!
Corona Me stands for Crown Me / Have us human beings in charge of life and our future.
It is a deadly condition that began when humankind decided to be in charge of it’s own destiny instead of the creator God that one reads about in the Bible.
This same Bible describes clearly that there is only one way to be saved from the destruction that results when humanity continues to trust in itself instead of God.
That hope is found in Jesus Christ alone and the Bible describes this one way of hope in this way: ‘Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one. (Acts 4:12)
We have become ultra concerned (rightly so) about maintaining social distancing in order for us to continue to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
However, during our social distancing we have also become more and more desperate to be reconnected with our loved ones and those we care about and those we have been separated from.
God cares about our separation from Him and each other more than we fully understand and that is why He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to fix this separation. This is how the Bible describes this amazing solution to the problem across the World:
‘But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.’ (Ephesians 2:13)
Space is limited in this article to be able to explain everything fully here, but please may I encourage you to take time to listen to this Special message ‘The Cross and the Coronavirus’ (Here is the weblink to listen to the message: https://soundcloud.com/settingcaptivesfree/the-cross-and-the-coronavirus or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-podcast-the-cross-and-the-coronavirus/id1460743639?i=1000469025066) that was given a year ago and will be especially helpful as we have a National Day of Reflection on Tuesday 23rd March 2021. This message will really help to explain further the wonderful hope to be found in a real life saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article and may the LORD God Almighty bless and help you draw nearer to Him today & every day.
Every blessing in Christ & His Cross
From Pastor Patrick Barker
P.S. There is a short video clip (on the Tiverton Baptist Church website home page) of me giving a similar message to this article out on the Street!
