WHEN I WAS a child my mother would give instructions on how not to catch things. We were to wash our hands; never to sit on a public toilet; never use a friends comb; and to never chew someone else’s gum. There were probably more than that, but these are the ones I remember. Catching colds is not as easy when you wash your hands often. If you don’t use another’s comb you have less chance of getting lice. It was a good thing when papers were given for toilet seats because I ended up with edema, because I would not use a public toilet. Public toilets came with worms or a venereal disease. And chewing someone else’s gum was just plain nasty.
IN THIS WORLD we have many diseases. Some are curable or can be managed with medicines. The most dreaded are deadly! No matter what medicines you take, and even when there is a remission, you know in your heart that you will probably succumb to it. Medicines vary in cost and many times a patient cannot afford to buy it. The world vendors of medicine make big bucks on someone’s illness. These are the ways of the world! God’s Word says His children are in the world, but not a part of the world.
IN MY OLD age I have come think about worldly disease in an entirely different way.
I call it ‘worldlyfluenza.’ You all have heard of influenza? You may have even contracted it!
Usually it is considered an epidemic because, it usually, is passed around. It is sort of like a cold which affects the throat, results in headaches and muscle aches. No one wants to have it!
HOWEVER, we all start out with a light case of worldlyfluenza. When we first learn about God’s creation, we learn about His place in the world; His plan from the beginning, and especially sin. Our eyes and ears are opened to the causes, symptoms and remedies. Many listen and watch and make a huge decision to believe in God. Those who believe, accept and agree, receive a medicine that can cure this worldly disease! If you refuse then you remain under the health conditions of worldlyfluenza. How sad is that!
JESUS prayed for His Disciples. He says that He did not pray for the world, but for those His Father had given Him. The cure for worldlyfluenza is Jesus Christ! He is the medicine that is offered by God! I started taking small doses as a child but took more and more as I grew older. Today, I can’t get enough of this Godly medicine. How about You?
“I DO NOT pray only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one, Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17:20-21(gn) Jesus prayed for us! Way back when He was here as the God-man! He prayed for you and me. He wanted us to not just believe, but to remain in Him! To be healthy, wealthy and wise!
GOD did not cause the sins of man. God allowed sin when He allowed man to be free to choose Him or not! “Ever since God created the world, His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen. Men can perceive them in the things that God has made. So they have no excuse at all!” Romans 1:20 (gn)
MOST PEOPLE know there is a God, but they do not give Him the honor and glory due Him, because they want to remain in the world as they know it. They may have chosen God in the beginning, but they have developed another case of the worldlyfluenza. “The fool says in his heart; “There is no God.” “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good.” Psalms 14:1 (rsv) God doesn’t keep anyone from making a fool of themselves!
“THE STEADFAST love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is His faithfulness,. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (rsv) Jane Ann Crenshaw 8/27/16
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