This devotion is a monthly ministry of the Pee Dee Baptist Association, comprised of 31 Southern Baptist churches in Dillon and Marlboro Counties. For more information call 774-8062.
Featured this month is Rev. Rob Pierce, the pastor of Latta Baptist Church, Latta.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship began its journey over a month ago from Yokohama, a city some 30 kilometers south of the capital Tokyo, Japan. It called at several ports in Japan, China, and Vietnam and, after two weeks at sea, returned to Yokohama a day ahead of schedule.
The reason for this: one of the passengers who boarded at Yokohama and got off at Hong Kong later tested positive for COVID-19. The man had developed a cough before boarding the cruise, stayed on the ship for six days, and gotten a fever after disembarking.
He tested positive for the novel coronavirus on February 1. Days later, the ship returned to Yokohama and was put under lockdown. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced the cruise ship would be quarantined at sea and said the health of passengers and crew members was “being prioritized.”
All 3,700 people on board were subject to a 14-day quarantine. Testing for the virus got underway, and confirmed cases were transferred to hospitals for treatment. The stories of those folks who have left the Diamond Princess cruise ship continue to unfold.
As Christians, we sometimes treat people we don’t even know like those who were on the cruise ship with the coronavirus. We look at others and want to keep them at arms-length because they don’t look like we do or act like we do or smell like we do. We must reach the lost, but we treat them like the sick on the ship.
It’s clear in scripture that Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10), but we’re afraid because they have a sickness called sin. Jesus made another point in this passage: the sick need the doctors, the well do not.
So, the real question is what is your identity? Do you identify as a child of God who has surrendered their life to Jesus? Or are you not there yet, still wondering about life, refusing the help of the great Physician, and getting sicker and sicker like one of the folks on that cruise ship?
The real question is not about your physical health but your spiritual health. How are you doing? How are you dealing with life? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, recognizing that you have a terminal illness called sin that everyone has according to Romans 3:23? Do you understand there is only one solution to your illness and His name is Jesus?
Turn from your sin, surrender your life to Jesus believing that He died for you to be saved. Confess Jesus as your Lord today and start living for Him because now you have a new life. Your illness is no longer terminal.
Need help? Call 1-800-633-3446 (1-800-NEED HIM) and get that help today!