{"id":6253,"date":"2020-03-27T13:37:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T17:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/?p=6253"},"modified":"2026-06-03T20:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T00:27:37","slug":"the-coronavirus-alarm-christians-need-to-wake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/the-coronavirus-alarm-christians-need-to-wake-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coronavirus Alarm – Christians Need to Wake Up! (162)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Coronavirus Alarm - Christians Need to Wake Up!<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By Steven J. Hogan<\/p>\n

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~ A Saturday Morning Post #162 ~

<\/em>As you know, the coronavirus has resulted in people getting sick and even dying. It has caused quarantines, social distancing, slowdowns, shutdowns, shortages, markets falling, job losses and financial losses. I am amazed and astounded how this one little virus has spread all over the world and affected so many lives. But has not God not ordained this? Yes, He has, and I believe one reason for this is because He wants to get our attention, He wants Christians to wake up and not be so worldly and fleshly minded. 1 Cor. 3:1-3

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There is this physical virus, but much worse than that, there\u2019s a spiritual virus in the souls of many believers, for they are busy loving themselves and the world, but aren\u2019t loving God. While I am sad that many are sick and dying, I am also thankful that God is using this coronavirus to cause us to slow down, to even stop us, and why? So we see what’s most important and seek Him. David said, \u201cHe makes me lie down in green pastures\u201d <\/em>(Psalm 23:2). More than anything or anyone else, you need the Lord. He must be first in your life, your most important relationship, the One you greatly love. \u201cWhom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.\u201d <\/em>Ps. 73:25-26, Col. 3:1-4, 1 John 2:15-17

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My favorite verse on this subject is John 17:3. Jesus said to His Father, \u201cThis is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.\u201d<\/em> Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God, as having a relationship with God and Himself. This is so incredible, so wonderful, that we can have a personal and permanent relationship with the living God, that He can talk to us and we can talk to Him, He can love us and we can love Him, we can know Him, spend time with Him, and be satisfied by Him. \u201cI said to the Lord, \u2018You are my Lord, I have no good besides You.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Psalm 16:2; John 4:14, 6:51, 10:11

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What a miracle, what a blessing, that we can know God and have a relationship with Him. What Christ did for us by dying on the cross and rising from the dead resulted in more than just being made righteous but being reconciled to God and having a relationship with Him. God could have saved us and set us in some far corner of the universe for all eternity. But no, He saved us so we could be His children and have this intimate relationship with Him, and then someday, leave this earth and literally be with Him in heaven. Psalm 23:6, 1 Thess. 4:15-17

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Your relationship with God is the single most important thing in your life, and He doesn\u2019t want you to be deceived, to think you are doing good if, in fact, you are living on the \u201cjunk food\u201d<\/em> of the world. Sadly, this deception describes the lives of many Christians: \u201cThus says the Lord\u2026 they went far from Me and walked after
emptiness and became empty\u2026 My people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.\u2019\u201d<\/em> Jeremiah 2:5, 13

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I hope you realize that worldly and fleshly desires wage war against your soul, and to have a close relationship with God is a continual struggle, one you need to keep winning. (1 Pet. 2:11-12). Here\u2019s how Paul says it – \u201cI count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord\u201d<\/em> (Phil. 3:7-10). God wants you to see the present and eternal value of knowing Him and Jesus. And to know Them means you know who They are, Their offices, character and purpose. God is your Father, and Jesus is your Creator, Lord, Savior, and coming King. Their character is perfect – They are holy, just, wise, good, powerful, loving, patient, forgiving, faithful, sovereign, etc. And God\u2019s purpose is to be glorified, and for us to be satisfied, rejoicing in Him, and worshiping Him. But it\u2019s not just knowing these things in your head but also knowing them in your heart and life.

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One of God\u2019s primary desires for you, whether that\u2019s here or in heaven, is for you to know Him. Let me ask you: are you experiencing God\u2019s forgiveness? Do you see that He is patient with you? Do you see that He is good to you? Do you see how He is sovereign in your life? Do you see how He loves you? Can you say, \u201cYour love is better than life\u201d <\/em>(Ps. 63:4). I can\u2019t stress enough the importance of knowing God, who He is and what He is like. Here\u2019s what Jeremiah says, \u201cLet him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises
lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth.\u201d<\/em> Jer. 9:24

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But it\u2019s more than that. Your relationship with God is not one-sided. It\u2019s not just what God says to you or does for you – it\u2019s you relating to Him and responding to Him. Prov. 8:17
– It\u2019s thanking God for saving you, for providing all your needs, for giving you a job, a place to live, a church, a family, friends, and so many spiritual and eternal blessings. 1 Thess. 5:18
– It\u2019s praising God, exalting Him, loving Him with all your heart. Psalm 118:28
– It\u2019s loving God\u2019s word and meditating on it. It\u2019s believing the truths and promises in His word. And it\u2019s obeying His commands. Psalm 1:2, 119:55-56, 119:97
– It\u2019s praying – it\u2019s seeking Him and asking Him to help you and others. Heb. 11:6
– It\u2019s getting time alone with Him, and pouring out your heart, praying to Him, listening to Him and learning from Him, and being spiritually refreshed. Mark 1:35
– It\u2019s walking with God, going through the day knowing He is with you. It means loving Him, trusting Him, obeying Him, confessing sin, asking Him for help, and being encouraged by Him. Gen. 5:24

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I strongly believe God is using use this Coronavirus Pandemic to wake up Christians, to revive us so that we are joyfully walking with Him and living for Him. \u201cDo this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed\u201d<\/em> (Rom. 13:11). You have a Father who loves you so much, a Savior who died for you, lives for you, prays for you, and can\u2019t wait to see you! And He doesn\u2019t want you sleeping. During this time of social distancing, make sure you are not distant from God, but are awake and close to Him. In His rebuke to the lukewarm Laodicean Christians, Jesus says, \u201c\u2018Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me\u2019\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 3:19-20). Jesus said to Martha, and to us, \u201c\u2026 you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, and it will not be taken away from her.\u201d<\/em> Luke 10:41-42

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This blog site is about the end-times, and the closer we get to Christ\u2019s return, the more difficult life will be. What\u2019s most important now, and in times of great tribulation, is your relationship with God. If you are walking with God, then you will have all the grace and peace you need, and everything will work out for His glory and for your good. During our life on this earth, might we say, \u201cI know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – How my heart yearns within me.\u201d<\/em> Job 19:25-27

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P.S. The Coronavirus Pandemic is presently the greatest physical danger in the world, and God is trying to teach us some important lessons. Here are three posts on this subject, and I recommend that you read them: “The Coronavirus, Plagues, and the End-Times”<\/a><\/em>, “The Coronavirus – Fear and Panic, or Faith and Peace”<\/a><\/em>, and “The Coronavirus, Christians, and the Coming of Christ.” <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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