“Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Covid-19 is at it again. Those testing positive with covid are rising at an alarming rate in Pierce County and all throughout this country. Many states are going back to stricter regulations. Restaurants are take out only. No one knows how many of the small businesses are going to make it through this. Hospitalizations for covid are filling our hospitals. Our health care workers are being stretched.

One of my daughters is working with economically disadvantaged kids in Houston with Teach for America. She is living alone for the first time in her life. We were so looking forward to having her home for Thanksgiving. But that’s not happening anymore. Covid had other plans. She will be away from us for the first time ever during Thanksgiving, and that’s not sitting too well with her daddy.

Ugh!

Psst. Hey, you! He’s talking to you. Yes, you.

The “you” in the verse of the day is singular throughout our verse. God’s not talking to you all. He’s talking to you!

“Fear not, for I am with you James; do not be dismayed for I am your God James; I will strengthen you, James, I will help you, James, I will uphold you, James, with my righteous hand.”

For every time you see my name underlined, replace it with your name and read this verse again.

Yeah, really. You! Do it. Read it with your name because God’s talking to you today.

This covid season will end. The vaccine is right around the corner. Hang in there. Stay faithful. Do everything you can to protect yourself, your loved ones, our health care workers, and all other essential workers. Keep wearing your masks, keep washing your hands with soap, and continue to practice social distancing.

We’ll all make it through this. God’s got our back. Let’s make sure we’re all at the other end of this covid thing.

Listen. God’s talking to you…

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

I have a friend who is an amazing encouragement to me. Every time I am with him I feel encouraged. Every time I am with him, he makes me want to be a better person and a better Christian.

A while back we were attending the Leadership Summit conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. There were about 10,000 pastors and leaders from all around the world at Willow Creek Church. During the breaks, we would all make a mad dash for the restrooms. The Leadership Summit is about the only place I know – besides football games and rock concerts – where a guy has to wait to go to the bathroom.

During the breaks, we would all make a mad dash to the restrooms and wait in line. There would be lines 30-50 people deep waiting to use the men’s room. Every time we used the restroom, I would observe my friend taking the extra time to wipe down the sink with the paper towel after he washed his hands. I never asked him why he did that, but I don’t need to.

The reason why my friend did that – and why he was always an encouragement to me, why he always took the time to thank the waiter in the restaurant, acknowledged the guy who served our coffee, greeted the greeter at the hotel, etc. – is because his goal in life is to be like Jesus.

He wanted to make wherever he was a better place because wherever he was, Jesus was there.

And the reason why he lives his life like this is because that’s how Jesus lived his life.

Could you imagine if all Christians lived with this simple philosophy – making the world a better place than we found it?

Should Christians live our lives like that, there wouldn’t be a need for apologetics. Christians would be the best reason for others to come to love Jesus Christ.

So you know what I find myself doing now? I am wiping down the sink in public places, taking the extra time to greet and thank the people serving and helping, doing my best to be like my friend – because he’s so much like Jesus Christ.

“Let a righteous man strike me – it is kindness; let him rebuke me – it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5).

What an odd passage. How in the world is striking another kindness? How is rebuke a balm of healing?

Then, what in the world could the Bible have in mind when it says “Let” a righteous man strike me – it is kindness? How can striking someone and rebuking someone be kindness?

First of all, the Bible is not advocating violence.

What the Bible is advocating is wisdom. There is so much wisdom that can be learned and gained for those less wise from those who are righteous. What better way to learn about how to live a life that is pleasing to God, a life that is fruitful than to learn it from someone who is righteous and someone who’s already been living this life?

Our issue is that we insist on living life according to our own rules and our own standards. We are terrible when it comes to listening to wisdom. We insist on making all our own mistakes. And that is a tragedy. That is so unwise.

What the Bible is trying to teach us is that we can either let life smack us around or we can humble ourselves and let the righteous teach us how best to live life.

What a genuine gift it would be to have the righteous show us when we are wrong and when we have gone off track so that before something really tragic can happen, we can make the necessary corrections.

In order for this to happen, we need enough humility to seek such guidance, and secondly enough wisdom to accept such rebuke and correction when it is given in love by the righteous.

So how about it? Ready for some wisdom?