THERE IS MORE SAID IN THE PODCAST AUDIO THAN IN THE NOTES BELOW
Welcome to the How to Stay and Survive the Coronavirus Plague Briefing Podcast #107. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.
REPENT!
Revelation 2:1-7 says:
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “At the time this letter was written, Ephesus was a major city of Asia Minor, a seaport, and the location of the great temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul had visited Ephesus about a.d. 53, about 43 years before this letter in Revelation was sent to them. Paul remained in Ephesus for several years and preached the gospel so effectively “that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord”. This large city was thoroughly stirred by Paul’s message, with the result that the silversmiths created a riot because their business of making shrines of Artemis was threatened.
The church accordingly had a long history and was the most prominent one in the area. The pastor or messenger of the church was addressed as the angel. The word’s principal use in the Bible is in reference to heavenly angels. But it is also used to refer to human messengers.
Christ was holding seven stars in His right hand and walking among the seven golden lampstands. The “stars” were the angels or messengers of the churches and the “lampstands” were the seven churches.
Christ commended those in the Ephesian church for their hard work perseverance, their condemnation of wicked men, and their identification of false apostles. (False teachers were present in each of the first four churches.) In addition they were commended for enduring hardships and not growing weary in serving God. In general this church had continued in its faithful service to God for more than 40 years.
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In spite of the many areas of commendation, the church in Ephesus was soundly rebuked: Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love. The order of words in the Greek is emphatic; the clause could be translated, “Your first love you have left.” Christ used the word agapēn, speaking of the deep kind of love that God has for people. This rebuke contrasts with what Paul wrote the Ephesians 35 years earlier, that he never stopped giving thanks for them because of their faith in Christ and their love for the saints. Most of the Ephesian Christians were now second-generation believers, and though they had retained purity of doctrine and life and had maintained a high level of service, they were lacking in deep devotion to Christ. How the church today needs to heed this same warning, that orthodoxy and service are not enough. Christ wants believers’ hearts as well as their hands and heads.
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The Ephesians were first reminded to remember the height from which you have fallen! They were told to repent and to return to the love they had left. Similar exhortations concerning the need for a deep love for God are frequently found in the New Testament. Christ stated that one’s love for God should be greater than his love for his closest relatives, including his father, mother, son, and daughter. Paul added that love for God should even be above one’s love for his or her mate. In calling the Ephesian believers to repentance Christ was asking them to change their attitude as well as their affections. They were to continue their service not simply because it was right but because they loved Christ. He warned them that if they did not respond, the light of their witness in Ephesus would be extinguished: I will remove your lampstand from its place. The church continued and was later the scene of a major church council, but after the 5th century both the church and the city declined. The immediate area has been uninhabited since the 14th century.
One additional word of commendation was inserted. They were commended because they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. There has been much speculation concerning the identity of the Nicolaitans, but the Scriptures do not specify who they were. They apparently were a sect wrong in practice and in doctrine.
As in the other letters, Christ gave the Ephesian church a promise addressed to individuals who will hear. He stated, To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. The tree of life, first mentioned in Genesis 3:22, was in the Garden of Eden. Later it reappears in the New Jerusalem where it bears abundant fruit. Those who eat of it will never die. This promise should not be construed as reward for only a special group of Christians but a normal expectation for all Christians. “The paradise of God” is probably a name for heaven. Apparently it will be identified with the New Jerusalem in the eternal state.
This encouragement to true love reminded them again of God’s gracious provision for salvation in time and eternity. Love for God is not wrought by legalistically observing commands, but by responding to one’s knowledge and appreciation of God’s love.”
Leonard Ravenhill said, “Sodom, which had no Bible, no preachers, no tracts, no prayer meetings, no churches, perished. How then will America and England be spared from the wrath of the Almighty, think you? We have millions of Bibles, scores of thousands of churches, endless preachers—and yet what sin!”
NEWS
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia’s largest school district has confirmed that around 260 employees have either tested positive for coronavirus or have been exposed.
According to the Kansas City Star, At least 30 coronavirus cases have been traced to Old Paths Baptist Church, in Independence, Kansas. The health department estimates more than 300 people may have been exposed to coronavirus.
According to the Newark Advocate, 32 confirmed coronavirus cases and two probable cases have been tracked to Christian Life Center in Heath, New Jersey.
According to the Post Independent, 19 coronavirus cases have been linked to two Pentecostal churches in Garfield County, Colorado.
According to Reuters, the coronavirus death toll in the US was over 1,000 for six days in a row.
According to USA Today, Dr. Larry Brilliant, a California epidemiologist [eh·
puh·dee·mee·aa·luh·juhst] who was part of a World Health Organization team in the 1970s that helped eradicate smallpox, said that the world will be fighting coronavirus for the next three to four years as virus hot spots skip from nation to nation, and the pandemic’s toll will linger for decades.
According to the Daily Mail, an Italian study found that more than half of hospitalised coronavirus patients develop a psychiatric disorder after being discharged,
According to the Hill, Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, said the US needs another lockdown to save the economy.
According to the AP, Parents are struggling as schools reopen amid a surge of coronavirus cases.
According to StudyFinds, 4 In 5 Parents are Considering Homeschooling their Kids This Fall.
According to Reuters, Teachers and support staff at more than 35 school districts across the United States on Monday protested the re-opening of schools while coronavirus is surging in many parts of the country.
According to the AP, Spain’s new wave of coronavirus infections is hitting the young and middle-aged.
According to CNN, Dr. Birx warned that the US is ‘in a new phase’ of coronavirus pandemic with more widespread cases, especially in rural areas.
According to Yahoo, the coronavirus vaccine could prove effective in as few as 50% of those who receive it.
According to CBS, Odell Beckham Jr has stated that the 2020 NFL season should be canceled.
According to the Daily Mail, the UK has plans to put the entire city of London on lockdown in coronavirus cases spike.
According to ABC, As the coronavirus crisis worsens, Dr. Desmond Carson, a physician and resident of Richmond, California, implored people to wear masks, practice social distancing and wash their hands in his remarks during a Friday press conference.
According to USA Today, 17-year-old Justin Hunter, a high school senior in Georgia is mourning the loss of both his parents after they died from coronavirus in the same week, media outlets report.
According to Fox News, A coronavirus outbreak at a YMCA Camp High Harbour at Lake Burton, Georgia infected hundreds with the coronavirus. Out of 344 campers and staff tested for the virus, 260 came back positive in the weeks following its closure, including 168 children.
HOME FAMILY
HOME CHURCH
HOME SCHOOL
HOME BUSINESS
Kaplan High School Review from thehomeschoolmom.com
Kaplan High School (KHS) is a private, online high school for students in grades 9 – 12. Programs are individually designed to support student’s specific goals through a menu of more than 75 courses, including a full range of core curriculum, advanced placement, and honors classes. Students aspiring to attend a university have access to a rich and demanding curriculum, certified instructors, dedicated academic advisors, and full technical support. KHS is operated by Kaplan Virtual Education, which is a subsidiary of Kaplan Higher Education.
What Is a Good Schedule for Homeschooling?, Part 4
The One-Subject-a-Day-Plus Schedule
The parents and/or kids in these families like delving deeply into one subject per day, but they also want to do some of certain specific subjects every day. So the “plus” is commonly math practice, memory work practice, and/or language arts. So they’ll spend time every homeschooling day doing those added (“plus”) things, followed by one other subject. So, on Mondays they might do math and spelling, followed by science. On Tuesdays they might do math and grammar, followed by history. On Wednesdays they might do math and writing, followed by geography. And so on. For a younger child, the language arts portion might be a reading lesson or reading practice each day. For a child who wants to write or who needs practice, it might be writing each day. Memory work, which is an approach some families might take for learning facts like state names and locations, multiplication tables, geologic time periods, or U.S. presidents, is obviously something that works better when revisited frequently.
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Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
BCNN1 WP 