Peril in the Pews

In 1st Peter 5, we are told that our strength to resist the schemes of the enemy comes from our connectedness to Christ - we can resist him in His power:
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.9Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.10But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

An encounter with Christ can bring the release of spiritual power, and we can perhaps know and appropriate the protective hand of God.   Perhaps over the weekend, you had the opportunity to feast on God's Word and enjoy a time of worship in your local church.  Maybe already today, through the strong Bible teaching and the songs of worship on Faith Radio, you have received spiritual nourishment, equipping you for the challenges of the week ahead.   As we encounter Christ through His Word and worship, we can then appropriate the resources He has made available so that our lives reflect the triumph He provides.

God's divine presence can yield divine protection, and we can trust in the Lord as our refuge and strength, our shield when we are threatened and tempted.   Here is a passage from Psalm 28:
6Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!7The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.8The Lord is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

On Easter Sunday in Fort Myers, Florida, an Easter concert was being held at the Second Haitian Baptist Church when something went terribly wrong.   According to a report on the Christian Today website, police say that a 2006 Lexus crashed into the church.  The 31-year-old driver said she was pulling into the church parking lot when the brakes on her car failed.  A 6-year-old in the car, escaped uninjured.

However, most of the church's sanctuary was demolished by the impact.  Many worshippers were trapped under pews and under the Lexus after the crash. Uninjured members ran to their cars to get jacks and worked together to lift the car off other church members. About 200 people were inside the sanctuary at the time of the accident.  18 were taken to the hospital, and most of them were treated and released.  Six people remained in the hospital for a lengthier period of time.

37-year-old Moise Gourdet told the local newspaper, "If not for the pews, I'd be dead...God or Jesus Christ made that happen."

A church member, Jean Lima, stated that God's hand was over the accident: "If God wasn't there, too many people die...He was watching over us."

Pastor Desamour Leontes echoed that sentiment, and acknowledged that the accident could have been far worse.  He said, "Glory to God that nobody died." 

Peril in the pews on Easter Sunday night.  When danger came, the hand of God was seen.  

This is a story about physical protection that came to the congregation.  One man said that he would have been dead without the presence of the pews.   I thought about how what takes place in the pews of our local churches can have protective implications for us.  

Yesterday, so many of us had an encounter in the pews, or the chairs, in our local house of worship.   Hopefully, you went into a service with an attitude of connecting with God.   So, what did you observe? What did you experience?   And, can it be relevant to you today?

Absolutely!  The Word of God will not return void - if you heard the Word in church, or perhaps as you encounter the Word through the ministry of Faith Radio, there is an opportunity for you to absorb and perhaps even act on what you discovered.   There is spiritual power that we can appropriate as we make that connection with God's truth.

And, the experience is enriched as the study of or preaching of the Word of God is mixed with worship - becoming more aware of the presence of God as we sing and speak praises to Him.

As we connect with Christ, not only can we encounter spiritual power, but we can receive spiritual protection, in order to face the spiritual dangers of this world.  Members of the Haitian church in Florida were in the pews when peril came, resulting in mass injury, but thankfully no death.  The presence of the pews perhaps saved lives - and what we gain in the pews can provide a hedge of protection for us, a shield against the influences of this world and the schemes of the devil, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

We can be challenged to use the spiritual resources we receive through the Word and worship.