Thoughts from York

Hello friends, hope you are well and that you're experiencing the joy of the Lord in the midst of the current situation.  Much has been written from a spiritual perspective concerning the Covid-19 pandemic so in giving an update from York I didn't really feel a pressing need to add to the many articles and social media posts that are already out there.  But there is a word the Lord has spoken to my heart during these days of quarantine:  Don't try to live in any season other than the one you're in at present; the next one will roll around soon enough.  God in His wisdom has caused the whole world to slow down.  All the ministries were in full stride at CC York & Bible College just as they were in many other places around the world and in a matter of a few weeks it all went silent with the exception of ramped up online ministries.

York Minster

York is normally bustling with tourists this time of year; instead the bells of empty churches echo down empty streets.  It's very peaceful.  The Spirit is burning deep and it's a beautiful thing.  It's very quiet at the Bible College.  The students have all returned home to their various respective countries but we are continuing the semester online.  I've been teaching through the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Mark and those classes are now available here on YouTube for anyone.

I've been reflecting on the idea that the church is not the apparatus.  The church is a living spiritual kingdom that cannot die.  We its members are living stones being built up into a spiritual house that cannot be destroyed (1 Pet. 2:5).  It is in this temple that we worship the Father in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  It seems quite likely that we will resume meeting in buildings in the near future and that will be a great blessing when it happens, but if for some reason that were not to happen, the church will not have lost her identity because her true identity is in Christ, not in infrastructure.  Over the last 2,000 years the church has been underground and above ground, meeting everywhere from catacombs to cathedrals in different seasons and places.  Her identity has always been the same, regardless of the apparatus particular to any given season.  Jesus said that He would build His church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).  He is building His church and I for one will be eternally grateful that He has included me in His doings.  I believe the Lord is doing good things during these days.  Job in the midst of his suffering speaks of a tree that has been cut down and all that remains is the stump in the ground, apparently dead.  Everything above has been lopped off, similar to our present situation.  This is what Job says of that tree:

For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant (Job 14:7-9).

This is an exciting season where God is doing something new, and there will be new things on the other side of this.  More than just the scent, we have living water of the Spirit (John 7:38) and our root is the Root of Jesse, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 11:10).  Surely we will see His hand in the coming days and one day soon we shall see Him face to face!  Amen.