Well, the world is panicking over the virus named Covid-19, A.K.A. the C.C.P. Virus, or the Wuhan Bat Virus (It is important to indicate the origin of a virus in its name). I have never seen such panic, especially over something that is minor for 98% of cases!  The world didn’t panic like this when the Polio epidemic was in full swing (a little before my time).

In recent weeks we have had several positive cases in our local hospital, and a couple of deaths have been attributed to this virus in our community.

My wife actually works at that hospital.

On line we are watching the cases grow exponentially. It is fascinating to watch the case load explode from 1, to 100, to 1,000, to tens of thousands. It won’t be long now for the numbers to reach the millions! No doubt the growth of this disease is already beyond the ability of our governments to contain.

So, what if you or I get this disease? As I said above, most cases are minor, and most people recover after a few days.

The big question is “What if I die from this disease?”

Well, we are all going to die eventually anyway, but what if we were to die of this disease in the next couple of months?

This is a serious question, and one you shouldn’t put off!

Are you ready to meet your Maker?

Most people think they are, and most are not!

Do you think you are a good person, and have done lots of good things that God must approve of?

If this describes your attitude, then you are in serious trouble! You see, doing good things, good deeds, does not undo the sins you have committed!

I was reading Isaiah 26 the other day and I came across a very interesting statement. In the midst of an indictment against the nation of Israel, the prophet says 12 “Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.” As he goes on to proclaim the failure of Israel he states in verse 18 “we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth”.

What does he mean “we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth”? He means that Israel has failed to deliver anyone from their sins! They were commissioned to be God’s missionary nation to the world, and they have failed in that commission!  All their works were done by God, and so there is no credit for them in those works!  Yes He still has a future of peace for them, but not before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble!

What he is alluding to, is the fact that anything good the nation has done, has been done by God Himself, working in and through them! They have not achieved anything by themselves! This not only applies to Israel, but all of us! As Paul states in Philippians 2:13

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Philippians was written to believers, and even to this group we are told that “anything pleasing you have done for the Lord, has actually been God working in and through you!” In fact we are told that it is God who makes us willing to do things pleasing unto God! We would never do these things on our own, and it is only as God moves in us, and works through us, that we might do something pleasing unto Him!

The people in Heaven understand this, and this is why those who have received crowns in Revelation 4, toss their crowns at the feet of Jesus!

The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:10-11

We are all sinners, and all of us deserve the Lake of Fire! I do, and so do you too! So do the 24 elders in this passage, and in fact so do all the saints of all time! In fact 100% of the human race, with one exception, has earned the wrath, the fierce anger of God! The one exception is the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ! The perfect Lamb of God, who received the wrath of God on our behalf!

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Psalm 14:2-3

I sought God, but truly it was only AFTER He first sought me! I fled from Him at first, and it was only that the weight of sin on my shoulders became to great for me to bear, only when my life fell apart, that I called on Him to save me! He allows us to sin, to show us what we are! It is only in His goodness and mercy that He does this.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23

None of us has lived up to God’s standards!

The truth is that we are born sinners! Don’t talk to me about the innocence of infants; babies are born screaming in anger, and fear! We don’t have to teach children to lie, they know how to do it instinctively!

The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Psalms 58:3

We are estranged from God the moment we are born, and we sin because we are born sinners, sin does not make us a sinner, but rather it is the evidence that we are already sinners!

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalms 51:5

This does not mean that David’s mother was unmarried when she conceived him, but that he was a sinner, just like his mother!

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24

The law never saved anyone, and was not intended to save, but was intended to prove to us that we are sinners!

I know from my own memories that I was an evil little kid when I was 3, and 4 years old! God was good enough to let me live long enough to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and even more, he allowed me to try on my own to live right, and to fail, so that eventually I fell on my knees and received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour!

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10:8-11

God took our shameful acts and put them on the Cross of Christ, so that He could give us the gift of His Righteousness!

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

Cling to this promise like it is the only thing standing between you and the Lake of Fire, because it is! I called on Jesus, and He saved me! Praise God!

So I am now confident that if I should die of this Wuhan Bat Virus, that I will be with Jesus that day, and if I live, it is only because He has something more for me to do here on earth! I can now echo with Paul;

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

I hope it is the same with you! If not, call on Jesus today, in faith, and He will save you! Then read His word daily, and tell others about Him, as long as He gives you breath!

Jesus gave us a list of End Times events in Matthew 24, and diseases (pestilence) are on that list, so don’t fret; God is in control!  Don’t place your hopes in this fallen world, but place them in the Risen Saviour!