The Heart of Pandemics

 

The Way of God-centered Prayer

I have been praying to God to help us with this coronavirus epidemic. Yet, I have not been sure what is the best prayer to ask God. Do I pray for the pandemic to stop? Do I ask for all people of God to be protected from it? Why is this happening? What have we as the creators on this planet done to deserve this? This is a world pandemic so we know that the cause may start in one place but its effects are transferred around the world.

The New Testament teaches "the law of reciprocity". This law gives us the understanding that the world has a deeper and a truer justice running through it than we realize. We make think we are victims of this cruel world, and wondering why it should treat us so when really we are only reaping from our own past. The first example from the Bible that comes to mind is from Galatians 6:7-9, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." God knows the intentions of our hearts and sees through any outer appearances. In Mt 7:1-2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” In Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

There are eight Beatitudes, blessings, declared by Jesus during His "Sermon on the Mount". One blessing, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:10) teaches us that even if we are wrongfully persecuted for belief or devotion to God, we shall be blessed eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven. Our reward or return is not on earth, and we may even see a return of persecution. The Beatitudes give us the notion that "blessed" refers to the state of being of those who put their trust in God. The law of reciprocity returns to us blessings when we stay pure in heart no matter the evil around us. Those who have little or no faith in God put their trust in the things of the world, thereby reaping their consequences from the world.

Our souls are here to learn and some believe that we have many tries, not just once, but return again and again. Whether we have one life or many each soul puts forth a character of its own. Some souls can find peace where there is no appearance of peace while other souls retain a warring heart. The bad soul, such as a fallen angel who fell into the earth, is hardly likely to learn from the goodness of others, even if surrounded by a world of saints. However, the good soul finds peace and retains a noble consciousness even though the world around him is steeped in wickedness. He thereby contributes to peace where there is no peace. In difficult times those who believe in the goodness of the soul will learn the possibility of being good from his own consciousness, all the more strongly because of the vice that touches him.

The understanding I have about life and death is that while God has given us free will to make choices He is in control of this world. Even if someone is suddenly taken in death whether from the cruelty of man unto man or from the forces of nature, God is in control via His laws. We have the free will choice to live in compliance with His laws or rebel against them. Our soul learns from those choices and I believe it takes more than one lifetime to learn from them. Even if we had only one try, and one lifetime, the Judgment Day, also known as the Final Judgment, is the day Jesus will return and judge "the living and the dead".

So what do we do in the present hour to help others and ourselves in this pandemic? Since the churches are closed down my daughter's pastor called the family the other day to see how they were doing. In their conversation he mentioned about being fearless. I realized then that that was one thing I could pray for, "Dear God, fill the people with your courage and wisdom to know what to do in this time of crisis." I have also been asking God for His will to be done and asking God to teach me how to pray. What is it that we need to learn from this pandemic?

The Sign of the Inner Spirit
After my prayers last night I could not sleep. I contemplated getting back up and reading when I felt God wanted me to make another choice. I received clairsentience signs in my body that something outside my consciousness was touching me, communicating to me. We always have a choice to believe the intuitive gifts we are given or ignore them. While I would not dream of ignoring God I also have to deal with the devil's ploy whereby I also receive "signs and wonders".

While the Bible connects "signs and wonders" to Jesus and the apostles, (2 Corinthians 12:12) , (Acts 14:3), there are also false "signs and wonders" (2 Thessalonians 2:9), (Mark 13:22). We must try the spirits (1 John 4:1-3). We must also put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-12). We put on that armor by 1) fastening on the belt of truth, 2) putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 3) putting on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, 4) In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, 5) and take the helmet of salvation, 6) taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The sword of the Spirit is prayer. The apostle Paul exhorts all to pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:18) "To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints (God's people)". Clearly, prayers of supplication are part of the spiritual battle all Christians should be engaged in. So who are not God's people?

Those outside of the saints of the Church are the "spiritually adulteress" people. Spiritual adultery is unfaithfulness to God. In James 4:4 they are the people who are friends of the world and have made themselves an enemy of God. Believers committing spiritual adultery may claim to love the Lord, but, in reality, they are captivated by the pleasures of this world, its influence, comforts, financial security, and so-called freedoms. An apostate church is also an adulteress. I will speak more on the adulterers in a moment.

The word "world," as it is used in this passage does not mean the Earth. We can appreciate what God, our Heavenly Father, has created for us and love the beauty in this creation. Rather, the "world" referenced is applicable of a system of thought, a mentality, and an embracing of a way of living common to the adulteress people. Yet the Bible says, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you" (1 John 2:15).

Receiving the "sign" of something wanting to communicate with me I prayed to make sure any evil intentions have been cast out and that this was a true sign of the Light. This was "taking up the sword of the Spirit" in prayer and "trying the spirits" that I would not be caught communicating with Satan or his emissaries. I had earlier prayed to God and asked for His will to be done on earth and in my world, thereby "fastening on the belt of truth" and believing that what I ask in full faith God will answer, thereby "taking up the shield of faith". I also prayed for God to teach me how not to entertain pride and the evils of the world which is putting on the "breastplate of righteousness". Then I had to trust and be in peace that I was now ready and prepared to receive within the right breastplate of the "gospel of peace".

Since I had been praying about the pandemic and what to pray for, the Light of God was giving me an answer, by way of my nervous system, I call "body symptoms". I feel in my body certain points that hurt or intensify in feeling thereby drawing my attention to that part of the body. Then I ask God for permission to ask if that feeling is related to the words associated with that body part or the feeling thereof. For example, inner corner eye itching is related to something "inner" and something to do with "seeing or vision". Left corner eye is related to the "left-handed path", "left" or the people of the world. The right side is related more to oneself or the "right" of God.

God the Creator or Ourselves?
Through this communication, I received that God is the creator of this world. Some people may take offense against that fact so it is a belief that can be argued for or against. Those who believe God is the creator are faced with a world that constantly tempts them away from God and into the world. One distraction from God and into the world is through money. "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matt. 6:24). Observe though, that it is not the possession of wealth that Jesus condemns, but the serving it, making a god out of it as an object of thought and pursuit, thereby worshiping it. Gathering it and using it in the service of God and using it according to the will of God is not serving money. 

Those who do not believe God is the creator will tend to make themselves into gods. And they compete with other "gods" for recognition. Not all who do not believe God as the creator are spiritual adulterers, but most are. Although they will worship the same god—themselves as creators. If you have no God in the picture who is the creator? You have to make one out of something. Those who have no God creator witness the many human creations in this world and may marvel at those creations and the creators of them.

What we have in the world today is a major advance in technology from previous ages. This advancement has brought mankind into such a close proximity to one another that global pandemics easily can occur. The world economy is also tied in with the major technological advancements. The World Wide Web connects the major world stock markets and the world's standard of measurement with what is acceptable in choices of free will. Like an evil virus spreading, the ideas of genocide, euthanasia, abortion, gay rights, pornography, and adultery, are becoming morally acceptable. Nation by nation they are joining together in government sponsored endorsements of murder and the acceptable free will misuse of the natural conjugal relationship between husband and wife.

God is the creative power. There is none else. John heard one of the angels in Revelation 14 say, with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water" (Rev. 14:7). Scripture is clear, we need to give glory to God for all He has given us and for His wisdom. For most of us who have only a little wisdom, we need to pray for that wisdom (James 1:5) and for the right use of it in our creations, not only for ourselves but for all who are creating on this earth.

There are none of us on earth, or have left earth and went to heaven, who have not sinned, outside of Jesus. Not one of us is worthy or can rightfully be worshiped or glorified. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). God is Light. God is Love and God is Spirit. All true worship must be spiritual. "God (the Father) is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

When we leave God out of the picture and glorify ourselves we open ourselves to being in alignment with the one who did the same, Satan. Satan, commonly known as the Devil, is also linked up with the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve. Many Christians also believe the Devil was once a beautiful angel named Lucifer who defied God and fell from grace. Ezekiel 28:17 says, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor" giving us the understanding that pride corrupts wisdom. Lucifer is associated with Isaiah 14:12-14, where it is believed he wanted to be exalted and like "the Most High".

Worship Me or Be Ensnared in Apostasy
Satan tried to tempt Jesus by showing him the kingdoms of this world. He wanted to be worshiped saying to Jesus, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4:8-9). Jesus replied, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only' " (Matt. 4:10).

Pride, and the desire to be glorified; and believing, even subconsciously, that we are the creators without God brings us in alignment with the evil of Satan. And where is Satan? “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it” (Job 1: 6-7). The Devil/Satan is not locked up in hell. God has given Satan a period of freedom until the Judgment. We’re told in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 

The way that seems right in the world is a consciousness of death. This perverted conscience arises from mankind's desertion of God. They may still say they believe in God but their heart shows otherwise. This density spreads as a weight upon the planet that God's own can barely breathe. No wonder we are succumbing to a virus that attacks our lungs and takes away our breath.

The facts I have presented so far help our spiritual understanding that all of us are accountable for what is going on in the world today. We are either contributing by our thought, word or deed to the death consciousness, which is away from the laws of God, or forgetting that even if we worship our Creator God we still may forget to pray for others who don't and have raised themselves up as gods and opened the door in their consciousness for evil to work through them.

Returning to the subject of spiritual adultery and the apostate church, Jesus taught that the church is His bride. In the Old Testament, God is the husband of his people. (Jer. 3:14) In the New Testament John introduces Christ as a groom: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He [Christ] that hath the bride is the bridegroom" (John 3:28-29). The church is collectively the bride of Christ, and it is made up of individual Christians, each one of who is the bride of Christ.

The word apostasy comes from the Greek apostasia. The English word means “to stand away from” or “to abandon” one’s faith or what they formerly professed to believe. Today there are many liberal denominations that deny the authority of Scripture or the deity of Christ, His virgin birth or that Jesus was resurrected, while still claiming they are Christians. A 2017 survey conducted by BBC revealed that 25% of British Christians surveyed did not believe in Christ's resurrection.

A Christian evangelist suggests that there are certain characteristics making a church apostate.

•  The church is apostate when she performs as a showboat rather than a lifeboat.
•  The church is apostate when she is a house of entertainment rather than a house of prayer.
•  The church is apostate when she dilutes the gospel message to make it more palatable to sinful man and broadens the way of salvation to make it more inclusive.
•  The church is apostate when pastors are irreverent and use crude humor to elicit a laugh from their hearers rather than have a solemnity before God as ambassadors for Christ and preach searching sermons which convict of sin.
•  The church is apostate when members are admitted based on a mere decision for Christ rather than displaying credible evidence of their salvation through regeneration.

I have experienced this in some of the churches I have attended. They do not feel like houses of God or leave you walking away from church wanting to be a better person. Rather, you are encouraged to come and go as you are and just have a good time and feel accepted for who you are with no demands upon you.

Vacillating between the "right" in This World and God's Wisdom
In this hour we are on the edge, vacillating whether we will listen to God within, the still, small voice, or our own voice the voice that may be the atdevil through us. It is a test for mankind. Which voice will they heed? Will they follow the greater wisdom of God's voice or the serpentine wisdom "the way that seemeth right to man but is the way thereof leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12)? Blinded by man's unbridled passions and self-will, he tumbles headlong into more sin losing all power of moral judgment. He thinks his own way best and most desirable and disregards the still small voice within that warns him of his "infected" perverted consciousness leading him to a weakened will and further disobedience.

Spiritual adultery is like trying to straddle the fence with one foot in the world and the other in heaven. It is not the will of God to have both simultaneously. As Jesus warned the church in Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

Theologian Charles Ellicott wrote about this passage:

Those "lukewarm" are neither earnest for God nor utterly indifferent to religion. They are, perhaps, best described as those who take an interest in religion, but whose worship of their idol of good taste, or good form, leads them to regard enthusiasm as ill-bred, and disturbing; and who have never put themselves to any inconvenience, braved any reproach, or abandoned any comfort for Christ's sake, but hoped to keep well with the world, while they flattered themselves that they stood well with God; who were in danger of betraying their Master, Judas-like, with a kiss. With the denunciation of "lukewarmness" here we may compare the exhortation to greater ministerial earnestness addressed to Archippus. 

Another of the seven churches warned by Jesus through John to repent was the church of Sardis. The advice and warnings in those seven letters are prophetic, forewarning Christian communities of today what can ensnare us and thus lure us away from our faith. In Sardis they were told "you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1). The church in Sardis had a name for Christianity, but there was no Christianity in it. It was like a church without a heart.

The Coronavirus: Following God's Wisdom
The outbreak of the coronavirus has to with Satan and the spread of evil. We are only learning now, even after months of experiencing its rapid spread how it is passed on from individual to individual. Healthy appearing individuals, asymptomatic people, are largely contributing to the rapid spread. The human reasoning is to separate people, limiting groups to no more than five people, keeping a distance of no less than six feet, etc. We are led to follow these practices as our way of protection from the virus. Since we are not allowed to gather in groups church attendance is not possible. The word of God through the pulpit is temporarily stopped and so is much of the wisdom of God not reaching the people.

Ask God for help, for protection, where to go and how to remain safe. "Ask, and ye shall receive" (Matt. 7:7). We are advised with how to protect ourselves by following the CDC's and government recommendations, giving us the impression that we are the doers and God is not involved. It is our loving relationship with God that gives us the inner vision of what is right in our lives to do and not to do. It is through that love that our thoughts will turn toward God for what outer steps to take for ourselves and our loved ones. We need to take wise steps and God will give us what those wise steps are.

What can we do for changing the decaying consciousness within mankind or those already decayed to the point of refusing God and His light and wisdom entirely? Pray for them and ask God to send His angels to tutor their souls and give them understanding in what darkness they have accepted in their lives, in their hearts, and in their minds. God gave us free will and therefore we are co-creators with Him. He gave us this world as our place to co-creator in. Our sin is believing that we are the creators not co-creators. We glorify ourselves or other humans as great creators and worship them or their creations.

Mankind has become increasingly selfish in holding the vision of themselves as the center of the universe and leaving God out of the picture. Without God, they must protect themselves. They must follow the recommendations of the government and government agencies. They lack the wisdom of God in what to individually do to morally, spiritually and physically to remain healthy. First, we need to start with ourselves and make the positive changes in our health and lifestyle and second, pray for other people that they will receive the desire, the wisdom and the strength to make positive changes towards letting go of the things of the world and putting their faith in God. Pray that they receive wisdom and understanding that they can have a personal relationship with God and know that God loves them and will help them if they ask.

People in the West have deplorable diets and unbeknownst to them, they do not realize that what they believe are healthy foods from the supermarket are really mass-produced vegetables grown on extremely poor soil due to over-production and the goal to produce more and bigger produce. They consume too much high-calorie sweet foods and drinks, thereby contributing to consuming less nutritionally dense foods. On top of their poor diets, their bodies are receiving environment toxins from highly contaminated foods, in the air that they breathe, the water they drink and the prescription medicines they consume.

Women’s breast milk in many countries now contains high levels of pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants contributing to the toxic buildup in children starting in infancy. It is estimated that 66 percent of all adults in the United States use prescription drugs. Most of these medications are not created to heal the human body of disease and health conditions but only to help alleviate symptoms and contribute to the wealth of pharmaceutical companies. The idea that there are those in the world that don't want healthy people is a reality.

For decades we have been in a strong downward decline in human health. Do we expect that disease is not going to touch our lives if we live in this way? Yet, it is possible and a true reality when we turn from the ways of the world, and live God-centered spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically we can have strong bodies and good health. While all of us cannot grow our own food, we can do our best to restrict unhealthy foods while increasing the healthy ones and returning back to consuming more unrefined foods and organic when possible.

We can turn back the damage already done to our bodies with God's help, prayer, faith, and a diligent change in lifestyle. If we don't make the choice to honor our bodies as a temple of God, how can we expect God will honor our requests for healing while we continue to abuse our bodies and, in the process, our souls?

This is God's word to me to reveal to you. I am already living the God-centered life and my reward is good health, huge gardens producing abundant vegetables and fruit to the point of every year having to give away some of the abundance even after preserving and consuming as much as we can. We are living debt-free and in a clean air environment. God has truly blessed us and my gratitude is great. I have the assurance that I am loved while I am loving God, myself and others to the best of my ability. I wish that upon all God's people, although I am realistic to know that we all can't live the same or have the same opportunities. Yet, we can always do better wherever we live if we make an effort. And we can pray that for those who are trapped in the densely populated cities and in poverty that God will help them.

One last word about my experience in going to town to get groceries. After finishing shopping I left my cart outside the public restrooms and went in. After washing and drying my hands as I was leaving the restroom I slipped and fell to the floor, falling hard on my hip. I looked back to see how I slipped and saw a puddle of water beneath the towel disposal. While hurting a bit I soon recovered with a little help of putting on some arnica cream and my prayer to God for healing. Yet I wanted to know from God why that happened.

What I received was that I was "infected" by the consciousness of the people in the store. I was aggressively told twice by one employee to step back. I had approached too close, not thinking of that required state of social distancing at that moment. I apologized to her. I wore no mask in the store, and temporarily stopped breathing in while close to anyone, especially if they were talking. I washed my hands before and after arriving in the store. And I trusted that God was leading me to do what was necessary for protection, and most importantly, that I did not become a carrier back to my loved ones.

I was temporarily caught in the consciousness of people's fear for their lives and fear of this disease and in their way of tackling the virus. I was shot down (fell) for listening to their way of protecting themselves while I was in their environment and it happened only moments after experiencing the aggression from the one employee. My fall was not caused by God punishing me but by the return of the collective energies of the people opposing God's way which I was trying to abide in. I was not strong enough to positively affect the people around me, instead of having them negatively affect me. A lesson to me in how important it is to remain strong in our faith no matter the environment so we can positively help others. What I needed to do was let that flow of God's love that I was receiving flow outward to others. Not only in that flow are we helping others but protecting ourselves when we stay in a positive flow.

God bless you!

Lorraine