Where do you live? Or to put it biblically where do you abide? Here in Glasgow, we ask where do you stay? There is no better address on earth right now than 91
st Street, meaning the 91
st Psalm. I’m living in the promises of this Psalm and in so doing making sure my address is:
C/O under the shadow of His wings.In these apocalyptic times, it’s the only safe place to be. This Psalm reads like it was written for our day. It speaks of deadly pestilence stalking the earth, traps, evil and cobras rising up to bite.But those who live at this address, and abide in this place are protected, preserved and delivered. Praise God!Anyone can live at this address; all you have to do is
make the Lord your refuge.Every day we are reading of this coronavirus pestilence, plagues of locust eating up massive territories in Africa and Asia, stock markets failing, businesses struggling and all of it with the most unbelievable crazy liberal immorality as the social background. When Dawn Butler MP, states on live national Television that all babies are born sexless, we are left dumbfounded, yet no one from her labour party corrects these comments. Or when Mhairi Black MP takes her best friend called 'flow job' (a drag queen) into a primary school without any parents knowing before hand, her SNP party simply say 'not the best idea'.These things sound exactly like the days of Noah, which Jesus said would be the indicators of the end of time, but not the actual end, for He said something else was to happen first, the gospel will be preached with great success to the very ends of the earth. (Matthew 24:14)So, what the devil means for bad, God is getting things ready for an awesome move and we are to be a part of it.There’s never been a more necessary time for you to get the primary focus of your life in the right place. PUT GOD OVER AND ABOVE everything else in your life, and in so doing you are bringing your health, your home, your family and your finances under the shadow of his wings.Here’s a tip, reduce the amount of negative news coming into your mind, and increase the amount of powerful Word coming into your heart.Of course, as a church and network we will be practical, and obedient as far as possible to the law and advice of our government who are doing the best they can, and we will do all we can to keep everyone safe.Here in Scotland, crowds of over 500 are discouraged, at the moment, so we will need to rethink Destiny United, but at the moment all else is on, church is open, present and ready to welcome many worried and anxious people.Maybe we won’t hug as much, and perhaps knocking elbows or virtual high fives as we greet one another. There is plenty of soap and water around all of our buildings for the ‘happy birthday’ hand wash, although we have had difficulty getting hold of antibacterial lotions from our suppliers. And if you do go around to visit a friend or to growth group, maybe gifts of toilet rolls instead of cake and chocolate would be appreciated.Sue and I are not stock piling anything, God is our source 24/7.
OUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19
In making it possible for the gospel to be preached in our land, we are having to fight a huge legal battle. It’s Destiny v City of Edinburgh Council, as we pursue a judicial review to maintain our right to meet in public places. Please cover all of that in prayer, and take a visit to our gofundme page. We have a brilliant legal team, but Jesus is our best advocate.Of course, at the same time the Franklin Graham team are already taking the SEC to court in Glasgow.I’ve changed my vocabulary lately, I’m telling people “I identify as Christian” since the biggest battle of our day is gender/transgender/identity, (and the consultation at the Scottish Parliament closes this week, so get your comments in). We need to add ‘Christian’ to the ever growing list of pronouns that people can choose, and we have the biggest and best reason to do that, because the Bible tells me that when I become a Christian I am a NEW CREATION without ever needing the pills, portions or surgery.One positive spin off from the present challenges, is that we get to stay at home and be with you guys, our wonderful family. We were meant to be at a conference in Rome this week, but it got cancelled.Watch out for each other, pray lots over everything, break bread often and expect God to do wonderful things in these the most challenging of times. Don’t miss an opportunity to speak up and share with those God brings your way.Can’t wait to see you over the weekend, and I have a powerful word ready to share that’s beating in my heart.We love you so much,Andrew
