⁸ “Now if we died with Christ,
we believe that we will also live with Him.
⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,
He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.
¹⁰ The death He died, He died to sin once for all;
but the life He lives, He lives to God.
~ Romans 6

Imagine that you are talking to someone and they tell you that they are scared of death… and ask what you think. I wonder what the reaction would be if you gave the response of Paul in Romans 6.
I don’t fear it — because I already died and now, I know I cannot die again! It is an extraordinary claim.
Of course, Paul is not claiming that he is not going to physically die, but he is saying that the fear of death has gone, because he has already been given eternal life. That is where we are if we believe and follow Jesus. The life we now live, we live to God. Because He died for us to give us that eternal life.

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. Australia – In comparison with the rest of the world, we in Australia seem really blessed. There have been a couple of days in the past week when there have been no new community-transmitted Covid-19 cases. Today NSW has four, but the contact, trace and isolate strategy seems to be working well. The Australian government has also just announced that it will purchase another two kinds of vaccines in preparation for the new year.

2. The World – Switzerland, Russia, Poland and Denmark are seeing significant increases in cases. Europe as a whole is seeing 200,000 cases per day. The US is seeing 100,000 cases per day.
Pray for the US — at the time of writing it looks as though, after a close and bitter election, Joe Biden will be elected President. The result is not final yet. Pray for peace and harmony.

3. The Church – We should remember the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on the poor.
The Church is very well-equipped in most areas of the world to help with this.
This week I did an interview with a Christian health worker who works with the poorest of the poor.
You may find it interesting and stimulating. We need to remember our God is the God of the poor…

In troubled times, it’s good to turn to the Psalms… I love this new version of Ps 121:

Prayer:
Lord our God, we lift our eyes to the hills and ask,
‘Where does our help come from?’
It comes from You, the maker of Heaven and earth.
You do not slumber or sleep.
You watch over Your people.
We are safe in Your hands.
We praise and rest in Your name. Amen.

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Twice-weekly devotions by David Robertson via Christians United — COVID19 Call to Prayer.[Photo by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash]