You can’t dwell on the frightening images you will see on cable news. You can’t cave in to the hysteria. There is something extremely important you must take care of.
After you have taken every precaution necessary for remaining safe—after you have settled it in your soul to remain strong in the Lord, wholly trusting in Him, it will be time for you to fight back.
Everything in me tells me these are the most important days you will know in our lifetime. Waste them, and it will be the greatest regret of your life.
Turn your days at home into the most important breakthrough ever. Turn feelings of helplessness into fuel for an amazing outcome. These are days to let God do a shocking new work inside you.
It all begins with the story of Paul being arrested and put in prison. Satan put Paul in prison, intending to inflict massive damage on Christianity. He thought Paul could no longer win souls, and he could not teach the fledgling churches that desperately needed his Apostleship. In fact, he couldn’t do anything…except for one thing.
He began writing. And writing would be the most devastating thing Paul would ever do to Satan’s kingdom. If Paul hadn’t been confined, he might never have had the time to write. How could he possibly imagine his writings would impact billions? Paul ended up writing 60% of the New Testament. Selah.
Jailing Paul was the stupidest mistake Satan ever made, besides crucifying Christ. Now let me show you how to make this confinement in your home, his next major mistake.
1. Model faith to your children. Settle it in your soul that God will pay your bills, protect your job and restore what you have lost. Don’t speak fear and doubt in your home! The greatest lesson you will ever model for your children—and the greatest gift you will ever leave to them—is to confess that everything that has been lost will be restored. Because when this is over and God comes through—as you know He will—they will remember and apply these lessons in their lives, whenever they are threatened. The greatest thing your children can watch you do is trust in God.
2. Read the Bible. Dump all the questionable prophetic words and conspiracy theories. Some in the prophetic camp are losing credibility because they foolishly predicted this plague would leave suddenly. Some even set a date—one that will likely prove them wrong. In the Old Testament such “prophets” would have been stoned. It is this lack of consequence in the prophetic camp that has wreaked havoc and left many unprepared for the storm that is upon us.
The same applies to conspiracies. How much clearer can the Bible be? Isaiah 8:12-13, “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, neither be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of Armies, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.”
It’s all over the internet, and religious broadcasting: ‘There is a worldwide secret society! It’s the devil and his vessels! Nancy Pelosi cooked up coronavirus in a Chinese laboratory!’
Stop needing a “word from God” from people. Stop digging into controversy. In 2 Timothy 2:23 Paul warned, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”
Instead, read the Bible! Now that you have a lot of time, get the Word of God in you. That is the most powerful protection, and the best way to understand how to weather this storm.
3. Make a list of goals for this down-time, and work hard to meet those goals. Already, you see how many things have stolen your time. You see how many things that previously cluttered your life, seem unimportant now. Because you are a child of God, nothing of yours that is vital will be stolen. Your job and your business will be brought back to life. Therefore, choose to see this as a kind of paid vacation. Paid by God.
It is a time to make overdue changes, and big and bold plans for the future. To do that, you must get to work. That means no binge-watching Netflix! It means you seek the heart of God and ask Him to show you the goals He wants you to accomplish. Write those goals out, and make the righteous choices that give those goals the very best chance of coming to pass.
Paul wrote much of the New Testament while he was in forced confinement. Great projects will be born—projects that may swallow up the wrong ones you had before.
Lastly make the most important goal list of all: the things you are never are never going back to.
4.Turn prayer into a habit. Inspiration will lead you to pray, but you must decide to form the habit that will keep you praying. The chilling fact is that if you do not pray during this pandemic, you will never pray at all. Let God deliver you from the greatest hindrances to prayer that I know of: impulse prayer and feeling-based prayer.
Right now, forget about how long you pray. Focus on praying each and every day. Behaviorists have shown that it takes doing something 35 times in a row, before it becomes a habit. If you create that habit, and deepen that habit, you will own life’s greatest skill. James 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
5. Focus on personal repentance, not national repentance. You do it! Don’t wait for others, or even think about other people’s repentance. People have been babbling about national repentance as if it was something other people need to do. We don’t see national repentance happening yet, so don’t wait for it to happen. Repent on your own!
We do not even see widespread repentance among preachers. Have you heard many preachers on social media admit they’ve been wrong? We are flooded with messages from preachers. But have you heard one major pastor or preacher repent or promise that they will run church differently than they did before? Do you see any preacher who isn’t just chomping at the bit to restart the same old thing? I promise you, unless deep repentance takes place, you will be shocked at how unchanged the American church will be, after all of this. Think about this: How much really changed after 9/11?
Remember, God is judging America as much because of the world, as because of the church. The carnal church has left us open to this disaster. And yet, without repentance, we have zero reason to believe it won’t go back to exactly the way it was before. In other words, they will have learned nothing from the pandemic. They just don’t get it.
We pray that God will not force the issue of repentance by extending and deepening our national crisis, until America implodes completely. But you have to wonder how they can all say they want this to be over, and yet they still will not repent.
But, we must not set our hope on that. Our hope is founded on the knowledge that we must repent before God—and that is personal repentance. That will lead to the real miracle of mercy. You see, you can stand as a priest between the sins of America, the sins of the church, and God. That is true intercession. There is a righteous core of believers who can turn this plague away. (read Numbers chapter 16)
Remember, God said He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were just 10 righteous people. We are not going to rebuke this away; we are going to repent it away. You have the power to stand between God and this virus.
We must give God what He is seeking. We can’t worry about how many others are interceding, even if there are only a few. The promises of the Lord are never vague! Neither are the conditions to His promises.
2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
yes and AMEN thank you brother! God bless you pastor Jeff
Pastor Jeffrey DalyNational Day of Repentancewww.repentday.com P.O. Box 1302 Middletown, CA USA 95461 (707) 350-0659 pastorjeff@repentday.com
“WE MUST GIVE GOD WHAT HE IS SEEKING”. Be ZEALOUS and Repent. Rev. 3:19. Whoever covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and FORSAKES them shall have mercy. Prob. 28:13
Satan has tried to kill my brother 3 times!…?
(1st) 2015 through a horrific nightmarish divorce and the loss of everything he had ever built including his wife the love of his life.?♂️
(2nd) 2019, through a major Brain Stroke, leaving him handicapped,??paralyzed and physically infirm.
(3rd) time was just this Monday morning (4-27-20), when he suddenly had a huge pulmonary lung embolism (large blood clot) laying across his lungs, pressing in on his heart, so he could not breathe with blood pressure so low they called it alarming!????
RUSHED by paramedics ? to the hospital, they put him on a ventilator not knowing if he’d make it through the night, they told us that he may not ever get off the ventilator, and that included “if” he responded to the “last resort clot buster” blood thinning medicine they had to give him.?
Important to explain, my brother was a successful Real Estate entrepreneur, a body builder, handsome, strong, healthy and in love – he also knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Satan stole everything from my brother.
BUT GOD!!!… saved my brother once again!!! PTL…satan didn’t get his way.
The hospital called told me yesterday that they were able to remove the ventilator and that he was breathing on his own 99 percent and that my brother was “light years away from where he was 78 hours ago!” (End of quote)
They at hospital even called it a miracle!!!
The devil is a LIAR!
My whole family prayed for my brother, even members of my family who in past years said they couldn’t believe in Jesus, began to pray.
LOVE won the day!❤️
DO what Mario says PRAY, REPENT, TRUST and THRUST your focus upon Jesus Christ seeking His glorious Face.?
Carolina: Amen and Amen!!!
thank you Jesus!
This on my heart:
Complacency leads to 1st Samuel Chapter 11.
We are on a path now that leads to the return of Christ, and the scriptures get clearer every day!
Thank God, we get to finish strong!
Mario,
At this moment it is 5:25 AM (EST) and I’m in my Secret Place where I come each day. The Holy Spirit drew me to open my email (which I try to never do), and I saw your blog in my inbox. Opening it, I read, and now I know why.
“5 Things You Must Do” is, perhaps, the most valuable piece you have written since the COVID-19 crisis broke. I know—stout words considering all you have written since the calamity landed on our shores. Your words here are simple but profoundly powerful. In fact, they are so prophetic that most people will miss the impact of this message if it were not for the Holy Spirit prodding them to open their hearts. These “5 Things” alone will shift the course of this nation when people apply them to their daily routine. Sometimes, as you infer, it requires being imprisoned to squeeze the anointing out of us. Or maybe it’s to mold us by the “squeeze.”
Thank you, Mario. All you have gone through, and everything God has brought you and your wife through over the years, He has saved the best wine for last. This is your season. Keep at it.
Bill Baldwin
Completely agree. Very timely advise. Repentance seems to be a by- word anymore. Acts 2-38.
Will the churches repent?
God gave me a word to deliver once to a large church about repentance and after I shared it with the preacher I clearly saw, in my spirit, the preacher on his face before his pulpit. Grief overwhelmed me.
Spoke to an elder a few days later and found out the preacher indeed layed before his pulpit to seek God.
Strange that after driving almost 2 hours to a church I don’t attend to deliver a message I was almost too shy to give…the preacher responded that he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Anyone else know of a perfect servant of the Lord.
Sorry if I sound sarcastic…but come on
We are all filthy rags and there is not one righteous..only Jesus, bless His Holy Name
Thank you! This is speaking so Loudly to my spirit. GOD bless you mightily and may HE expand your influence, for HIS Name’s sake, in the days ahead! Sincerely, Tracy
I wrote this yesterday on my Facebook page:
Today is day 40 of our Quarantine. In the past days, I have allowed myself to encamped in Newsfeeds, Facebook live, and Zoom. So today, instead of becoming frustrated with this uncertain season. I need to shake myself and remember, God’s faithfulness hasn’t changed. I MUST stop growing weary. Today I will look up and look back. Look for evidence of God’s presence, and look back on what He’s done for myself and family.
Psalms 35:23
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord.
2 Timothy 1:6
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
WOW reading this article confirms my thoughts from yesterday.
Very good advice – biblically based. Thank you. Personally, I am more interested in your incredible outreach ministry then your focus on government elections. If we read our bibles we know who not to vote for at the very least. In this time, and all times, we need evangelism and discipleship. We need to stir the denominations to express true followship of Jesus. God bless you and your wonderful mknistry!
Thank you for your wise words and love of God our Father and His Christ; pointing people to Jesus not yourself.
The Cross of Jesus stands powerful and triumphant in the breach; we stand on the Cross as our rock foundation and we will not be moved.
Jesus said, “No one can take my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again; this charge I have received from my Father” John 10:18.
Thank God Jesus was given all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and gives us the power of the gospel to lay our lives down and be made alive together with Christ; the full gospel, the pure power, to die to sin and be made alive to Christ; die to sin, death and the works of the devil and be made alive to righteousness.
Judgment begins with the household of God, beginning with individuals, ending with “the end” of those who do not obey the gospel of God. “If the righteous man is scarcely saved, where will the impious and sinner appear?” 1 Peter 4:17-18
Jesus preached the gospel of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel” Mark 1:14-15
Those who are believing a watered-down, luke-warm, compromised, tolerance gospel, politically correct gospel, social gospel, prosperity gospel, entertainment gospel, hipster gospel, worldly gospel with Harry Potter and Disney Sundays, social justice gospel, etc., compromising the pure, full gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, need to go read the Words of Jesus for themselves. Thank you for pointing people to the bible for the answers to this virus crisis.
Jesus said, “He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the Word that I have spoken will be their judge on the last day” John 12:48
People became complacent thinking going to church was righteous when “narrow is the gate” and few find it.
NewHeavenOnEarth,
? I’m laughing out loud after reading your excellent description …
“watered-down, luke-warm, compromised, tolerance gospel, politically correct gospel, social gospel, prosperity gospel, entertainment gospel, hipster gospel, worldly gospel with Harry Potter and Disney Sundays, social justice gospel, etc., ”
PERFECT‼️
What are they thinking❓
They are not thinking with the Mind of Christ! 🙂
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” Ephesians 5:14
“Buy from Me gold refined by fire, white garments and eyes to see…be zealous and repent” open the knocking door; let Jesus in to intimately commune; conquer unbelief and the ways of this world and be seated with Christ in heavenly places says glorified Christ in Rev 3:18 and Paul in Ephesians 2:6
I pray they come to their senses, have their faculties trained to discern good from evil; coming to their right minds before it is too late.
AMEN!!~~
Wow this is so spot on; words I needed to hear today; it’s as if you wrote them just for me. We can so easily lose direction or purpose when we allow things in that misguide. There are no promises that this world can offer; yet we know with Christ all things are possible. We must obtain the one relationship that moves mountains and ignites hearts. Thank you for sharing the heart of God to His people and equipping His saints with truth and the steps to begin or continue in for the furthering of His Kingdom. The Church or those that remain ready to fulfill the upward call must not grow weary in our stance but rise up and that starts right now in our current state. I am so thankful that God’s mercies are new every day and that He receives us over and over again as we come with repentance from our hearts. Amen
Pray in The Spirit and the wait on God in quietness. Let all other activities, thoughts, desires, and inspirations flow from these two activities. We must be intentional with this. Start with a minimum of 10 minutes a day and continue to increase daily until at least an hour a day. Give yourself a 90 day challenge to do this daily, then continue for the rest of your life. This is Christianity 101 children. It’s time to grow up. I’m Just Sayin’! Thanks from Yuma Arizona.
There’s a remnant that gets it. We know we have to repent of all known and unknown sins. We realize that our failures, the failure of the churches, have allowed this thing to come upon us. But so, so many are still asleep. I just saw someone who calls herself a Christian rebuke a real Christian on a thread, for mentioning God, telling her not to, “bring god (she used the small “d”, I do not) into this. And besides, go (small “d”) is love). When someone says this, we know immediately, their neither know God nor the Bible. Doubtful that they have picked up a Bible in years, if ever. They are speaking of a New Age god that they have created in their own mind. Sadly, we are not yet even seeing the Church as a whole own its sins, much less, the country. All we can do is tell them. Thank God for bold voices such as Pastor Mario.
Sir, What would be your advise on this vaccine they want to give everyone? Blessings! Mindy WhiteSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
If Christians are skeptical about the government and the motives of the medical profession they have no one to blame but themselves. On the other hand we must wait and see what the true composition of the vaccine will be.
I applaud your boldness. This is an amazing article and I agree with almost 100% of it. I too am a bold believer and for this reason I write. I love the bride!! You speak of repentance, so can I respectfully challenge you? One of the MAJOR problems I see in the church today is the attacking of another man’s anointing. We are in NO position to judge another Man’s servant. So while I appreciate this article greatly, I grieve over the portion where you defame your fellow brother and servant of God. A kingdom divided against can NOT stand.
We need to stay in our own lanes and trust the LORD to lead and guide His servants. Truthfully, if you look in Zechariah 13:3-6, I would discourage anyone from calling themselves a prophet. We are servants of the Most High God and the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of JESUS. So, when it comes to repentance, I would love to see CHRISTIANS abandon the tendency to devour one another and instead take a Matthew 18 approach to correction.
This is only way we will succeed in the battle ahead. THIS WAR IS WON WITH LOVE! Everyone must do their part. All hands on deck…..AS ONE!!
This is some balance to our frustrations I think. Good guidelines for standing with God, for God and for our country.
Kathy ❤️ “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. ❤️
Sent from my iPad
>