It was probably written around A.D. 55 or 56 -a long, long time ago!

Christian Legal Society presented a free webinar, Asylum in the United States:  An Overview of the Law and Recent Changes & Special Considerations for Christian Legal Aid Clinics, for anyone interested in learning about serving those who are persecuted abroad. 

Long before the first presidential debate, bad things happened in Philadelphia.  Bad things were already happening in Philadelphia in 2018, when the City of Philadelphia ended its relationship with Catholic Social Services (“CSS”).  The Catholic Church had been providing adoption services in Philadelphia for over 200 years.  However, the City ended the relationship after news reports indicated that CSS does not screen same-sex couples for prospective foster parenting because such placements would run counter to its religious convictions.  Notably, CSS was one of thirty adoption agencies wor

Note: This article was originally published as part of a SCOTUSblog symposium on the Roberts court and the religion clauses. It is re-posted here by kind permission.

As I shared in my previous two posts,  God is not taken by surprise by COVID-19, and around 1000 B.C., He inspired a psalmist to write and sing Psalm 91. This Psalm is most certainly for us in such a time as this. In view of this and other deadly prospects, it gives us security for such a time as this.

Sadly, the elderly are being hit from multiple fronts during this coronavirus pandemic. Not only are they the most susceptible to contracting the virus, the social isolation leads to greater loneliness, makes it harder for them to get needed help, and makes them more susceptible to physical abuse and financial manipulation. 

As we shared in the last devotional, God is not taken by surprise by COVID-19. In fact around 1000 B.C., He inspired a Psalmist to write and sing Psalm 91.  This Psalm is most certainly for us in such a time as this.  How many sixteen-verse passages of Scripture reference “pestilence” twice and “plague”? (Psalm 91:3,6,10) In view of this and other deadly prospects, it gives us security for such a time as this.

As COVID-19 hit this spring and workers were let go by the millions across the country, the federal government and many state governments ordered moratoriums on evictions. All of these moratoriums have either recently expired or about to expire, at the same time that extra federal unemployment benefits are also ending. Even before the pandemic, 25% of all renters in the U.S. were already overburdened, paying more than half their income in rent.

“Pestilence”: Any extremely poisonous, injurious or fatal contagious or infectious disease, especially one of  epidemic proportions, as a plague”        

Sound familiar? 

Rest assured, God is not taken by surprise by COVID-19. In fact, around 1000 B.C., He inspired a Psalmist to write and sing Psalm 91.  This Psalm is most certainly for us in such a time as this.  How many sixteen-verse passages of Scripture reference “pestilence” twice and “plague”? (Psalm 91:3,6,10) In view of this and other deadly prospects, it gives us security for such a time as this.