Hold on . . . and win!

James 1:2-4 and 12

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

CNN Reported recently:

When Covid-19 cases began climbing in the fall within Norton County, Kansas, the administrator of a local nursing home used the facility's Facebook page to send residents reminders.

An early September post on the Andbe Home's page urged visitors to "PLEASE PLEASE follow the guidelines," including maintaining a distance of six feet and wearing a mask at all times, "not just in front of us." This is the most dangerous place in the grocery storeThree weeks later, while the county's number of infections crept upward, the home went into lockdown."It is our responsibility to protect our residents and I feel with an increase in active cases we need to take this unfortunate step," Megan Mapes, the administrator, wrote on October 2.Five days later, the home announced its first positive resident. By mid-October, Andbe Home had a "full COVID outbreak," Mapes said on Facebook.Every single one of the 61 residents in the home tested positive for the virus. At least 21 have since died of Covid-19, according to Mapes.

Kansas now holds the country's fifth highest seven-day positivity rate and on Thursday it reported record high hospitalization numbers, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

"Ninety-two percent of our state's 105 counties have moderate or high levels of community transmission," the governor said November 25. "I know we all want this to be over, we all want to turn to some semblance of normal but we cannot return... until this virus is under control, until we flatten the curve, until a vaccine is available, widely distributed and vaccination rates are significant."

North Dakota has 135 cases per 100,000; Kansas has 94 cases per 100,000; North Carolina has 29 per 100,000 and Hawaii with the lowest leverls has 7 cases per 100,000 people.

New Study Suggests Mouthwash Can Kill Coronavirus in Saliva in 30 Seconds

Along with hand washing and other hygiene measures, mouthwash could become a routine part of people’s daily habits after preliminary lab tests from the University of Cardiff found it can combat coronavirus in 30 seconds.

These results, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, stem from a 12-week study where it’s been found that mouthwashes containing at least 0.07 percent cetypyridinium chloride (CPC) show “promising signs” of killing off the virus.

The three types of mouthwash that eradicated the coronavirus were Dentyl Dual Action, Dentyl Fresh Protect, and Listerine Advance.

Challenges are Inevitable . . . Find your Joy

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,

We are in a pandemic. Our first step to getting and maintaining our joy is to accept the fact . . . we are in a pandemic. It's a global pandemic which means people everywhere are experiencing the same challenges we are facing in the United States, North Carolina, and in our city.

Matthew 5:11–12 NIV

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Here in 5:11, it comes into focus for the first time in Jesus’ public ministry that identification with him is to be key to beneficial participation in the coming kingdom of heaven. This is how people are to become part of what God is now doing. Specifically, to be persecuted on account of Jesus is the appropriate continuation in the present of all the persecution on account of righteousness that has thus far befallen God’s people.

GET TESTED . . . FIND VICTORY

James 5:3 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

MOSES TESTED 10 TIMES

1. God tells him to leave his homeland to be a stranger in the land of Canaan. 2. Immediately after his arrival in the Promised Land, he encounters a famine. 3. The Egyptians seize his beloved wife, Sarah, and bring her to Pharaoh. 4. Abraham faces incredible odds in the battle of the four and five kings. 5. He marries Hagar after not being able to have children with Sarah. 6. God tells him to circumcise himself at an advanced age. 7. The king of Gerar captures Sarah, intending to take her for himself. 8. God tells him to send Hagar away after having a child with her. 9. His son, Ishmael, becomes estranged. 10. God tells him to sacrifice his dear son Isaac upon an altar. Genesis 22:2

FINISH WHAT YOU START . . . lack nothing

James1:4  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Ephesians 4:11-13

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.