Dear members of PCCC English-speaking congregation,
Thank you for praying as a congregation during the past week!
What an unusual weekend we have experienced as PEACE Bible Studies were shared on-line and we conducted our Sunday Service on You Tube.
I’m sure that when we met together before we ever heard of COVID-19, none of us could have imagined today’s scene as we live-streamed our service from a virtually empty church building. It was a powerful reminder of how much we can take for granted. I think we’ve always just accepted the fact that we could attend our building every week, meet with friends to share fellowship, raise our voices and hearts in praise to God and hear from His Word together.
Suddenly, we find ourselves unable to share these experiences and we are probably shocked by this turn of events. We frequently pray for Christians around the world who are unable to meet together, so our current situation makes me think about those places – I am more conscious than ever of the plight of fellow believers who can never do the things we take for granted. A live-stream might be a bit of a novelty for us, but many of them could not even share in that without putting their lives in danger. I’m sure they would regard the things we take for granted to be a wonderful privilege beyond their wildest dreams.
My mind went to a song titled ‘Big Yellow Taxi,’ written by Joni Mitchell in 1969. I am aware that’s 51 years ago, the year a Boeing 747 made its first flight, the year Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon and the year I did the HSC, so most of you may never have heard of Joni Mitchell or this song.
It tells her story of returning to a beautiful place in Hawaii that she remembered as ‘paradise,’ only to find it had been replaced by man-made structures – a parking lot, pink hotel, boutique and a swinging hot spot. It includes a refrain with these memorable lines that are certainly worth contemplating today:
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
Isn’t that true much of the time? I’m sure we would agree that it can apply to every aspect of life! We take so much for granted, but how would we feel if we were suddenly robbed of freedom, ample food, fresh water, health care, education, family and friendships? The list could go on and on and it would include the ability to meet together for worship.
I trust that when we are able to resume meeting together, we will greatly value the opportunities we have as Australian Christians, regarding them as wonderful God-given privileges and never, ever take them for granted.
This week, please continue to pray for our church (including PEACE Bible Study on Saturday and our Live-Stream Service on Sunday) and Australia’s response to COVID-19 (including slowdown of the infection rate).
Please add the Persecuted Church around the world to your list.
Please remember to ask, ‘am I just praying for SURVIVAL or am I praying for REVIVAL?’
Have a great, calm, productive and safe week; may we all have opportunities to point people to Jesus, whether in person or on social media.
God Bless,
Alan