Live streaming! Who would have thought 20+ years ago that the Lord’s people while physically separated could stay in touch with worship & Bible classes through the internet? I have thanked God many times for this technology.

Circumstances have often dictated temporary interruptions. Snow, ice, hail storms, tornadoes, power-outages, etc. have all proven to be good reasons to cancel or postpone assemblies. After such threats pass, however, the church comes back together.

I believe we have done well to observe for a while some reasonable restrictions for everyone’s health & safety. Even Miriam, Moses’ sister, had to be “quarantined” outside the camp for a time when stricken with leprosy (see Numbers 12:1-15). After a time, however, Miriam was received back into the camp and they all moved on.

We too, have had a time “outside the camp”. I am grateful for our technology that has helped us through our separation from one another. My concern now is that some will come to see the internet as a substitute for assembling in person.

Please don’t let that be you! I encourage you to refuse to allow such a good blessing to become a curse. While being much better than total isolation, live streaming is surely no substitute in the mind of God for our actually coming together.

The Good Lord longs for your presence, and so do the rest of us. As Psalm 100 exhorts, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.”