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Listen while you read: "O Word Of God Incarnate"1 (Lyrics) |
Psalm 122:1 – I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." (NKJV)
During the COVID-19 shutdown, for more than a year and a half now, Greta and I have watched a great number of services on YouTube from a church in the Netherlands, which we attended a number of times when we went there on a family visit. The church building was built in 1549, and in a video introduction, the present pastor comments on the fact that people have been worshipping there for over 472 years. He mentions that it is a family of faith, that Jesus loves us, that everyone is welcome, and that their services are both orthodox and evangelical.
Throughout these centuries, through all the turmoil, the Word of the Lord has been brought to the people. The church survived, even though it had its struggles. In the days of the Holy Roman Empire until 1813, through a long series of wars and treaties, the area was ruled successively by Spanish, Austrian, and French emperors. Through the Spanish Flu in the early 20th century, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and now the recent COVID-19 restrictions, people are still glad to come to the house of the Lord.
From the very beginning, even the early Christian believers had untold problems. They were persecuted, even killed for their faith. They went from place to place to escape the wrath of the authorities, but as a consequence, the Word kept spreading.
Acts 8:1b – At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (NKJV)
Later, the Roman emperor persecuted the Christians, but the churches grew, and the good news of the gospel spread from place to place, until the whole Roman Empire professed to be Christian. Nothing could stop the spread of the Word of God.
Although some do forecast the death of the church through a combination of COVID-19 restrictions and modern liberalism, it is obvious that all through history, God's Word has been brought, and regardless of the circumstances, it cannot be stopped.
Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. (NKJV)
- Word of God, across the ages comes your message to our life:
Source of hope, forever present in our toil and fears and strife;
Constant witness of God's mercy, still our grace whate'er befall;
Guide unfailing, strength eternal, offered freely to us all.
– Ferdinand Q. Blanchard (1867 – 1968)
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we thank You for all those Christians who believed and brought the Word for so many years, in many cases under the most difficult circumstances. May Your church continue to flourish! We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Thursday, January 23, 2025 – In Europe — Pray for the Jewish community to be encouraged and feel the love of their non-Jewish Christian friends. Pray that the Holy Spirit would open the hearts and minds of these secular Jews, and for God's leadership in my work.
daughter: "Update December 30, 2024: And please touch her heart that she may turn to YOU.* November 12, 2024:..." 
Thank you.
Thanks for the encouraging thoughts, Joel.
Amen Joel. Praying for you.
Blessings.
I hope and pray everything went well yesterday for you.
May God be with you and your family as you recover.
Wow! Good one, Joel. Trust you to pass such truth along. My love, prayers, and blessings today.
Amen to that Joel.
Blessings,
(QC)
Amen to that, Joel.
Praying for you and for successful surgery.
(ON)
Thank you for sharing this encouraging reminder of God’s loving protection in times of ill health, trial, and stress! Blessings.
Dear Joel:
You are in my prayers today for a very successful surgery. May God bless you and your wife.
Great post and important reminder to us all as we make our way through this latest wave of the pandemic, Joel. Hope you are doing well and may God bless you and your family!
Thinking of you and the scheduled surgery and the storm of yesterday. Do hope it went smoothly or perhaps it was rescheduled. My thoughts and prayers are with you! I enjoyed hearing of the history of the church in the Netherlands!
Thank you, Joel, for this devotion. It shows how God’s word does survive, through hard times, through generations. You are in my prayers, pray all will go well for you.
Take care, blessings.
Thank you so much. I enjoyed the bible verses you used to illustrate your message. It was exactly what I needed as an encouragement today.
Blessings to you and your family.
Yes, throughout the world ‘the Church’ has survived. The one in the Netherlands sounded very special to me, since I was born there. I would like to know where to find it on YouTube. Hope and pray your operation is over and all is well.
Thank you again for a wonderful devotional. I believe you will be undergoing surgery soon and many of the readers will be praying for you and the surgical team that all may proceed smoothly. May God bless you and your family during this difficult time.
Dear Joel,
I want to thank you for your most inspiring and educational devotional. You are a blessing to us, and we are praying for you and yours.
Blessings, Healing, and Joy.
Thank you again for your devotional and mentioning that old church in the Netherlands. Where is that located? Also, yesterday you came to mind as I believe you shared a few weeks back that you were going to have surgery yesterday — we pray that it all went well, and that God’s healing is being experienced. I appreciate your witness and history lesson. Blessings.
Greetings Joel,
Many thanks for another of your very informative devotionals. How very thankful we must be that Christians hold faith and go forward in their worship services and keep spreading the word of our beloved Christ. I continue prayers that that your surgery went as scheduled and that you have a very good recovery.
Blessings.
Joel, what a pleasure to read your devotional this morning, with the reminder that Covid 19 is not the only difficulty through which people of faith have struggled and endured.
I have been praying for you, that your surgery will be able to go ahead and that it will be completely successful, and you are restored to good health. You have blessed others in so many ways. We ask the Lord’s hand on you through these health challenges.
Good morning, Joel,
I have been praying that all goes well with your surgery. This is such a good reminder of the power of God and his church. We all need to have hope as we see churches struggling and to remember how long it has survived and through so many challenges it has been brought to the people.
I join in your prayer and know that God has a plan that will continue to unfold in His way. Thank you.
Good morning,
Thank you for your very encouraging message in the devotional.
As we live through this pandemic, may we again be reminded that also today the Lord is in control, and nothing happens without his will. His word will come to pass at His time.
He will not forget His children and give many an opportunity to still come to Him who have not yet done so.
May we also be part of keeping the church alive and growing.
Blessings to you.
Good morning Mr Joël, Thank you for another great devotion.
I would like to know the YouTube video link you reference in today’s devotional so that I may go visit this church when covid-19 restrictions are completed in Nederland.
Thank you, Have a great day!
(Nederland)
Thanks for your thoughts. The “church” as we’ve come to expect may emerge differently after this plague, but then again, the church wasn’t so much about buildings in the beginning when it grew so fast. When I read your message, I thought of “heart of worship” by Matt Redman as I’m encouraged by how our small group continues to meet and want to talk about deep issues of faith. Perhaps we’ll see the reemergence of house churches connected with other house churches through technology or media.