Tag: covid19

It Is Written Continues to Air Church Programming in Response to Church Closures

Updated 5:11 p.m., June 9, 2020.

It Is Written will continue to air relevant, uplifting, and inspiring content for those who are unable to attend church. Join us this weekend on It Is Written TV (www.itiswritten.tv) for Bible study with special guests Dr. Michael Hasel and Dr. Frank Hasel, followed by a special sermon from the In the Word sermon series.

During the Bible study, aired multiple times during the weekend, the presenters take an in-depth look at how to correctly interpret Scripture. The study guide used in the program and written by the Drs. Hasel (cousins) can be accessed here for free. Past Bible study programs can be viewed here.

Following the Bible study, John Bradshaw preaches a sermon from the In the Word sermon series. Those episodes can be viewed here.

See the schedule below for airtimes.

Schedule:

(all times are North American Eastern Daylight Time)

Friday

8:30 p.m. Bible study; 9 p.m. Sermon

Saturday

10:30 a.m. Bible study; 11 a.m. Sermon

1:30 p.m. Bible study; 2 p.m. Sermon

8 p.m. Sermon

Sunday

10:30 a.m. Bible study; 11 a.m. Sermon

8 p.m. Sermon

It Is Written TV is available online at itiswritten.tv and on YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Play, Roku, and through the It Is Written mobile app.

It Is Written TV features not only a 24/7 livestream but also all It Is Written programming on demand: the award-winning It Is Written series; the new shows Conversations, Line Upon Line, and In the Word; several Spanish series, including Escrito Está; It Is Written Classics with founder George Vandeman; and other high-quality programs.

8 Lessons From the Coronavirus

There’s much we can learn from the coronavirus crisis. Let’s look at a few coronavirus lessons, in no order of importance.

1. People can make you sick. I heard a sermon more than 25 years ago, preached by a man who sadly is now no longer a believer. He said that if you grow a garden, you wouldn’t be wise to locate it right at your property line if your neighbor’s property was filled with weeds. Because even if you do everything right, seeds from your neighbor’s property are going to blow into your garden and fill it with weeds. Proximity is a serious consideration. The same is true with the coronavirus, which affects people via other people. We need to be careful about what we catch from other people.

That’s especially true in a spiritual sense. It’s vital that we’re careful about what we catch from other people. Associations matter because attitudes rub off. If you’re in school and the popular kids aren’t serious about God, having them in your inner circle could be hazardous to your spiritual health. If your work associates or friends are corrosive to your faith, be exceedingly careful about how you let that association influence you. People have influence. We’re all influencers. Be careful of the influence of others.

2. Be careful how you spray. We’ve been reminded again and again to cough or sneeze into our elbows, so as not to affect or endanger others. Too many people “spray” their anger, bad language, and hateful attitudes on other people, who in turn are adversely affected by that. Your racist, sexist, or demeaning “joke” might be funny to you, but it’s going to harm others. Venting your anger might be acceptable to you, but it “sprays” on others. When you see a skunk, your first reaction might be, “I hope that thing doesn’t spray near me!” Some people evoke the same reaction as skunks. “I hope he doesn’t blow up.” “I hope she doesn’t start criticizing other people.” We have no right to “spray” others with our dysfunction. If you can’t muster up self control, if you can’t surrender your anger and frustration to God, it doesn’t make it okay for you to spray it upon others. It’s unfair, and it brings others down.

Lesson 3 from the coronavirus. It’s important to separate fact from fiction. “10 percent of the world’s population is going to die.” “This will last 18 months!” The truth is, we don’t yet have all the answers. I’ve seen numerous emails being forwarded containing miracle cures, the “truth” about the coronavirus, and remedies that are guaranteed to keep you safe. It’s almost certain that they won’t. The internet is like the Sears-Roebuck catalogues of yesteryear. You can find almost whatever you’re looking for. The same is apparently true of the Bible, because there are people who can appeal to the Bible to support just about anything at all. It’s important–from a Biblical perspective–to separate fact from fiction. Don’t fall for every last thing someone tells you about God, or about the Bible. The devil has no shortage of people wanting to lead you astray, divert your attention, and weaken your faith. The Bible is the truth. What someone says about the Bible is not necessarily the truth.

4. It’s good to think about the common good. We’re in this together. Your actions have a reaction. That’s why EVERYONE is being asked to act responsibly, to consider others. It might be that the coronavirus is going to bounce right off you. In fact, statistically speaking, there’s a very good chance that you’re going to be barely affected, physically. But even if you’re okay, you don’t want to be a carrier, a transmitter, of this illness. Spiritually speaking, you can be a negative force or a positive force in this world. You get to choose what you’re going to be. Consider your influence and use it for the good of others. And notice: at no time have you heard it said that only people who are specially qualified can pass on illness. You just have to be alive, and you can be a carrier. It’s the same with faith. You don’t have to be special, just special to God, and you can act for the good of everyone.

Lesson 5 from the coronavirus. Do the simple things to protect yourself. Wash your hands, avoid the sick, eat well, exercise, get rest. These are simple things. In faith, it’s the same. Read your Bible. Talk to God. Let your light shine. There’s nothing hard about these things. Spiritually, you want to do the simple things to protect yourself. If you’re not reading your Bible, then you’re not spiritually strong, and you shouldn’t fool yourself into thinking you are. Prayer and Bible reading are habit-forming. Do them, and you’ll want to do them more.

6. Things change fast. Two months ago, precious few people were talking about this. Now it’s the topic of almost every conversation, and it is dominating the news. When 2020 began, we had no idea that less than three months later the economy would be shutting down, cities would be under lockdown, people would have lost jobs, schools would be shut… Someone once said that the final movements would be rapid ones. That statement couldn’t be any more correct.

7. A final lesson from the coronavirus (and there are certainly many more.) It’s always right to do the right things. It’s always been right to look after your health, to cough into your sleeve, to stay away from work when you’re sick or contagious, to get exercise, to get adequate rest, and to think about the wellbeing of others. It’s best to incorporate these principles into your daily life anyway. It’s wise to simply make good practices part of everyday life. The same is true in a relationship with God. You don’t want to wait until tragedy strikes to discover prayer. You don’t want to be in the midst of a crisis to turn to the Bible. The wise things are always wise. Right is always right. God’s principles for successful living are simply the best things to do.

8. A final final lesson! Have faith in God. God has not given us the spirit of fear, according to 2 Timothy 1:7. God truly exists (Hebrews 11:6), He is love (1 John 4:8), He loves you (Jeremiah 31:3), Jesus is coming back to this world (John 14:3), and eternity awaits (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is a great time for faith in a great God. The best is yet to come!

P.S. Don’t miss my conversation with Dr. Roger Seheult, a pulmonology, critical care, and sleep specialist. Dr. Seheult shares some vital insights into the coronavirus crisis. Be sure to watch and share with others. You can click here to watch it.

The Coronavirus “And All the World…”

Everyone is talking about it. All over the world.

People are getting sick. People are dying. The stock market has taken a hit. Tourism numbers are now plunging in some parts of the world. It might impact the Olympic games.

As of Tuesday, March 3, there were approximately 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, across the United States. There have been around 90,000 reported cases in the world, with around 3,100 deaths (including six in the U.S.).¹

Where the numbers will eventually go is anyone’s guess. But thankfully, the coronavirus isn’t HIV/AIDS or Ebola. Or even the flu. It’s serious, and it’s highly contagious. But as far as global epidemics go, as bad as it is–and 3,100 deaths is a tragedy, to be sure–the CDC estimates by comparison that as many as 46,000 people have died from the flu since October of last year in the United States alone!²

What we’re seeing is that it takes no time at all for the planet to focus its attention on an issue. The coronavirus as a phenomenon shows us that an issue can become an absolute global phenomenon like that. And that’s something that has prophetic significance.

For more than 25 years, I’ve had people ask me how the Earth’s last great crisis is going to become a global issue. I’ve lost track of how many times people have asked me how authorities will know who is refusing to receive the mark of the beast. “How will they know who’s going along with the mark of the beast and who isn’t?” Of course that’s a fair question, but what we’ve been reminded of yet again is that society is able to focus its attention on an issue, and make that issue the issue for the world, in no time at all. And that’s what’s going to happen in the end of time.

The world has become much smaller in recent years. Electronic communication has increased the speed with which news can travel and the ease with which reports can be beamed from one part of the globe to another. Someone once said that the final movements of this earth would be “rapid ones.” That someone was right.

We need not speculate as to when certain prophetic events are going to take place. We already know the answer. Soon.

The coronavirus phenomenon shows us things can change incredibly quickly. The Bible says that “and all the world wondered after the beast” and that “all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him” (Revelation 13:3, 8). We’ve seen clearly illustrated in the last few weeks how an issue can become a global issue virtually overnight, how the unlikely can become a global reality in no time at all.

Six thousand years ago the Earth was infected with a disease called sin. It won’t be long and the whole world will be talking about the issues that will dominate the closing scenes of this world’s history.

Everyone will be talking about it. All over the world.

And those who are fully surrendered to Jesus will experience final deliverance when Jesus returns.

Click here to watch a video about coronavirus prevention and implications from John Bradshaw and medical expert Dr. David DeRose. A Spanish transcription of the video is available here from Escrito Está.


¹https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/coronavirus-outbreak-death-toll-us-infections-latest-news-updates-2020-03-03/

²https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm