Put GOD First 将上帝放在第一位

We are not afraid of the arrows flying in the day, the plague of the night, or the poison of extinction aimed at getting rid of us. We saw thousands of people falling beside us, tens of thousands falling to the right and to the left of us, but we are not afraid. We know that this is God’s overall plan for mankind. We know that the Lord is our refuge and that we are dwelling in His place.

Yes, Coronavirus, COVID 19, is here. It reached New Zealand soil so suddenly in February 2020. It caught New Zealand by surprise. The New Zealand Government was not prepared for this epidemic (in February) and now pandemic (mid-May). The virus is still not fully understood three months out. In the meanwhile, the number of people affected by the virus rises by the million the world over. The virus knows no boundary. It knows no race, no religion, no politics, no rank, no position. It fact, COVID 19 is a gentle reminder to us all that God, our Lord, is and always will be in control.

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks to You for safeguarding us in this troubled time. We give thanks to You for reminding us to treasure our family members, to cherish our environment, and, more importantly, to respect You as our Lord. We pray that You continue to shower us with Your Blessings. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

If you are a Christian please read Psalm 91: 1 - 16. https://youtu.be/h8TlJQUWTZ4. Luke 21: 25-26. https://youtu.be/vVY8NfQ7Q2M. Daniel 3: 19-25 https://youtu.be/LTgqb7NNVus and Genesis 6: 15-18 https://youtu.be/wuycEl-4Gnk. If you are not Christian as yet, please skip these readings and move on.

We are living in a dangerous era. Dangers are everywhere around us. Human life is very fragile. We have wars (trade war especially in this day and age), accidents, diseases, and natural disasters. That begs the question: “If God is kind to us humans, why allow such dangers to exist?”

Why, O why? https://youtu.be/kyG_skeb1ag

We shall put our minds in a broader context, shall we? If there is no evil on earth, no disasters, no accidents, then our vocabulary will be minimal. May we suggest that in Eden Garden, Adam and Eve were simpletons, perhaps even downright ‘dump’ by present-day standards. Then there is the simple reason that our God is the Lord of the Universe, not the Lord for only humans.

Then, there is another question to be answered. “What if we, Christians, also fall prey to COVID 19 and subsequently die?”

Well, as Christians, we are not afraid of Death. In death, we left our earth behind and enter the Kingdom of God. Our sufferings on earth have ceased. Just look at the many examples of people who were disabled and did so much for testimonies for the Lord.

“Behold, darkness is now covering the earth, and darkness covers all people. But, the Lord will appear the shine on you; his glory will appear in you. In this last generation of the world, the world will not get better, and it will get darker and darker. But, the glory of God will shine more and more on us.” Praise the Lord.

我们不惧怕白天飞来飞去的箭矢，夜晚的瘟疫或旨在摆脱我们的灭绝毒药。我们看到成千上万的人跌落在我们身旁，成千上万的人跌落在我们的左右两侧，但我们并不害怕。我们知道这是上帝对人类的总体计划。我们知道主是我们的避难所，并且我们住在他的宫殿中。

是的，冠状病毒，COVID 19，已经来到这里了。在2020年2月，它突然到达了新西兰的土壤。它使新西兰感到惊讶。新西兰政府没有为这一流行病做好准备。该病毒三个月后仍未完全了解。同时，受病毒感染的人数全世界增加了百多万。病毒没有边界。它不知道种族，宗教，政治，等级，职位。事实上，COVID 19向我们所有人温柔地提醒我们，上帝，我们的主，是永远控制这个世界。
让我们低头祈祷一下吧。
天父，我们感谢您在这个困难时期保护我们。我们感谢您提醒我们珍惜家人，珍惜我们的环境，更重要的是，尊敬您作为我们的主。我们祈祷您继续向我们洒下祝福。我们以耶稣基督的名义祈祷。阿们.

如果您是基督徒，请阅读以赛亚书 Isaiah 60:2-3  https://youtu.be/V6OhVeu0LqE. 箴言Proverbs 24:26 https://youtu.be/SXYJaf01FIM. 约翰一书4:18 1 John 4:18  https://youtu.be/56nK80qoTZI  如果您还不是基督徒的话，请跳过这些阅读并继续。
我们将把自己的思想放在更广阔的背景上，对吗？如果地球上没有邪恶，没有灾难，没有事故，那么我们的词汇量将是最小的。我们可以建议，在伊甸园中，亚当和夏娃是简单的人，按当今的标准甚至可能是彻头彻尾的“倾销”。然后有一个简单的原因，就是我们的上帝是宇宙的主，而不是仅人类的主。
然后，还有另一个问题要回答。 “如果我们基督徒也沦为COVID 19的牺牲品，然后死去呢？”
好吧，作为基督徒，我们不惧怕死亡。在死亡中，我们离开了地球，进入了上帝的王国。我们在地球上的苦难已经停止。只要看看许多残疾人的例子，他们为天父做了很多见证。

“看哪，黑暗正在覆盖大地，黑暗覆盖了所有人。但是，主必照耀你。他的荣耀会出现在你身上。在这个世界的最后一代中，世界不会变得更好，它将变得越来越黑暗。但是，上帝的荣耀会越来越多地照在我们身上。” 赞美主。