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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
This 1:29 min video reminds us that the coronavirus pandemic is not partisan, but it is providential.
Is it absurd to ask the question, is public health partisan or providential?
Is public health partisan? The short answer is, No.
But it would be naïve to think politicians don’t do a political calculus on what their actions might do for their careers.
This, however, is not a diatribe against politicians, though partisanship does get old. This is about Christians seeing the big picture in a public health crisis.
No one would pray for something like the coronavirus pandemic. No one wants their loved ones infected. Yet God can turn evil to good.
Christians ought to see the pandemic as an opportunity to glorify God by ministering to others.
In centuries past through numerous plagues, Christians did not succumb to flight or fright but stayed long, served long, suffered long.
Christians provided medical and compassion assistance to everyone, not just people of the faith.
Christians first established hospitals in Europe.
Christians recognized that when plagues did cause them to flee, the diaspora helped spread not the plague but Christianity.
No, pandemics are not partisan, but they are providential.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com. Follow him at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
This 1:48 min video reviews how difficult it is to know and what we don't know about the coronavirus pandemic. Then, what we know for sure, the known known that we can trust the Sovereign God regarding the virus.
What really can we say that we know for sure as the global pandemic creates a new reality?
This coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented.
Political leaders and public health professionals are scrambling because they’ve never seen this before, not in modern times anyway.
The problem is not with their actions. The problem is with their humanity, meaning that like me they are not omniscient, so outcomes cannot be foretold, only that there will be outcomes.
Remember Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld? In a 2002 press conference referencing the Iraq War, Rumsfeld described decision making as a matter of known knowns, known unknowns, unknown unknowns.
What God’s purposes are in this pandemic is a known unknown.
What lasting ripples of this pandemic will be are an unknown unknowns.
But the known known, what we can embrace with assurance, is what the Bible says,
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7).
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com. Follow him at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
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This 15:01 min video chat with Dr. Camille Melki, CEO, Heart for Lebanon, considers how SAT-7 and Heart for Lebanon can "lead, not just manage, through the coronavirus crisis" to minister to people in great need.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This vlog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow him at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
This 2:10 min video considers how SAT-7 can minister during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coronavirus pandemic has pushed governments to call for shutdowns, including churches closing their doors and families sheltering-in-place.
These are circumstances with which we in Europe and the United States are not familiar.
But these kinds of challenges are old news in the Middle East and North Africa.
In this region— religion, rulers, and regimes have long shuttered churches, restricted freedom of religion and mobility, and periodically persecuted congregations.
Meanwhile SAT-7, broadcasting throughout 25 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, understands how to connect with people via satellite technology and social media in the relative safety of their own homes.
While churches in the West are moving to online services SAT-7 has been doing this for years to support the MENA Church.
Now, while we’re all subject to travel restrictions, there are no restrictions on media distribution.
SAT-7 ministers every day to people who are sheltering in place, socially distanced, or isolated.
Our friend in Beirut, Pastor Hikmat Kashouh recently said, “Today, (our church) is 1,000 churches. That’s because every house is now a church, following our service and worshiping the Lord. Through SAT-7 we can reach everyone. The Coronavirus may disperse us, but the Lord gathers us and unites us through His spirit around His Holy Word.”
This is SAT-7’s unique opportunity, a lifeline for the Church for such a time as this.
You can be part of this lifeline for the Arab, Iranian, and Turkish people.
Please consider a special gift for SAT-7’s ministry. Perhaps $670 for a broadcasting day sponsorship.
Together, we can bring encouragement to isolated Arab, Farsi and Turkish speaking people, sharing the Gospel directly into the living rooms of millions of homes.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
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This 2:39 min home desk vlog reflects upon the Old Testament book of Psalms and the incredible relevance it now has to a world beset by a frightening coronavirus epidemic.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalms 23
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog and video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
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This 1:31 min video contrasts panic and preparedness from a Christian perspective re the coronavirus pandemic.
Should we panic or prepare in the face of the pandemic? Christians have an answer.
The Coronavirus is sweeping the world, has been declared a pandemic, has in-fected thousands and a-ffected millions. Clearly, it’s a real disease presenting a real threat at perhaps unprecedented levels, at least in the modern age.
One response is panic: panic-buying of items like toilet paper, riots in some major cities globally, an epidemic of fear. This response is understandable but not healthy.
A second response is preparedness: listening to public health experts, doing what we can to encourage prevention, like washing our hands, not gathering in large groups, reducing travel, not shaking hands.
Because we know and trust the Sovereign Lord God, Christians need to model preparedness over panic.
The Psalmist said, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” (Psalm 91:4).
In the face of fear, Christians can offer aid, solace, and hope.
Christ and Christianity are nothing if not the antidote to panic.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog and video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.