1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Starting this Sunday and in the Sundays until the end of April, most of us will have to worship online. On the one hand, this is needful to curb the rapidly rising number of infected cases. On the other hand, worship online is not the best mode to worship God. If carried on long term, our spiritual life will be hurt. For that reason, the author of Hebrews urges us in Hebrews 10:24-25,
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meetingtogether, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The author of Hebrews gave this instruction despite the danger of being arrested if the readers were discovered by the Roman empire to be a Christian. Coming to worship together must have been very important for the readers for several reasons. First, we are people who need to socialise with other human beings. Long term aloneless damages us mentally. You cannot replace meeting physically together with Facebook, WhatsApp or even video conferencing.
Second, there is a more important reason why Christians must come together to fellowship including worshipping God together: we need “to spur one another on toward love and good deeds” because we will face judgment on “the Day” (Heb 10:25). When Christians meet, we meet to comfort one another in life’s difficult race. Life is difficult not only because of life pressure. The author is referring primarily to temptations and trials that threaten to make our hearts grow spiritually cold towards our Lord and do sinful things just for survival.
Thus, we meet with a very clear objective: “to love” one another, including to comfort, encourage, and urge each other on to do “good deeds,” that is, to serve fellow Christians and to serve the Lord. This is important and urgent “as we see the Day [of judgement] approaching.” Temptations and trials of life are not valid reasons for not doing “good deeds,” that is, serving God’s people and serving God. Paul also says the same: “10 For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).
Although we cannot meet in church, if you are willing and comfortable with this idea, gather in small groups (not more than 10) to worship the Lord online. Besides Sunday Worship, members of a cell-group or a fellowship group can meet in small groups (not more than 10) for fellowship. Christians need to continue to fellowship with one another. If not, our hearts will grow cold because of sinful things in the world. Do not underestimate the damage that can be done. If you can’t meet physically, please fellowship over the phone or video conferencing. But maintain the 1m social distance and personal hygiene. May our Lord keep you physically and spiritually safe. Love each other. Take care of one another. Read your Bible. Pray for the nation’s leaders. Pray for each other. Flee from sin. Please do.