Great Plains Daily Devotional for 9/30/2020

1 Corinthians 3:11 

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
 

Years ago, while serving a rural church in Kansas, I experienced an earthquake for the first time. An earthquake in Kansas? Who knew? Of course, it barely registered on the Richter scale, but it was a large enough seismic vibration that it shook my bed for several seconds. Afterwards, I sat in disbelief, ever cautious, expecting there might be another one to follow, a bigger one. 
 
I have been sitting in similar disbelief as I have continued to navigate this seismic vibration of a pandemic. For instance, if someone would have told me years ago that there would be a time in my ministry where I would be preaching to empty pews on Sunday morning, I would have thought they were crazy. Such a thought would have any preacher quaking in their boots. Yet, for several months now, I have been preaching to empty pews on Sunday mornings. That has caused me to be ever cautious, looking out for what might be the next seismic vibration, maybe a bigger one.
 
Recently, new technology allowed us to add a handful of worship helpers and musicians; no congregation in-person just yet. Our Online Worship Team took great care in how we set up the sanctuary with social distancing and mask wearing. Oh, how it did my soul good to have a few others finally join me in-person in the sanctuary. Sure, I’ve had the congregation present with me in the Sanctuary for the past several months in virtual pews through Facebook Live, but it is not the same.
 
This pandemic has surely confirmed ours is not a faith built on concrete and mortar, it’s a faith built on Jesus Christ. I will celebrate and rejoice on that glorious day when the congregation can join me in the Sanctuary. In the meantime, I will remain confident in the church’s One Foundation to sustain us through whatever seismic vibrations come next.

Prayer for Reflection

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Phillipians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32