Many people enjoy reading a great mystery novel. Part of the attraction captured in the story is the tension throughout that ultimately leads to the resolution of the mystery. What would happen if at the end of the story, the last chapter was removed from the book and the solution was never revealed? There's no doubt, the reader would experience feelings of confusion, frustration, and even anger. There's something within our human nature that struggles with unresolved situations. In other words we feel uncomfortable with the unknown. We need to know how and why something happens so we can capture, control, or at times manipulate our circumstances. We operate from a tangible place wherein something is "real" only when we can experience it with our senses and understand it. This fact is not necessarily true of all situations. Most people won't be motivated to find out what gravity tangibly looks like, we just accept scientifically that it exists. The closest evidence we have that tells us gravity is real is seen in outer space as we watch astronauts float around on the international space station. God is often a challenge to us as human beings. For many, God is not "real" because they cannot tangibly perceive Him. Followers of Christ are called to operate by faith which is defined in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
THE MYSTERY OF GOD
There is a mystery about God which does not allow us to neatly package Him up and put Him in a box of our own creation. Yet, something within our spirits keeps human beings in pursuit of God, in pursuit of a Mystery. We see examples in both the Old and New Testaments. Moses was drawn to investigate a phenomena that didn't make sense, a bush that burned but was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-3) After, the Lord called Moses, he continued to have a desire to tangibly "see" God. In Exodus 33, Moses asked God to show him His glory. However, the Lord declined to fully reveal Himself to Moses. God declared, "... you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live." (Exodus 33:20) However, God allowed Moses a glimpse of Himself while Moses remained safely shielded in the cleft of a rock. Moses was able to see God's back but not His face or put another way, he was unable to see the full revelation of God. (Exodus 33:21-23) Moses was left in pursuit of a Mystery. In the New Testament, Jesus becomes the "face" and reflection of God. However, the disciples were never fully able to comprehend the mystery represented in Christ. In one of His many miracles, Jesus calms a storm which the disciples perceived was a threat to their lives. After Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves, we are told the disciples were terrified and asked each other, "...Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him." (Mark 4:41) The disciples came to understand more fully who Jesus was after His resurrection and especially after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to empower them to carry the gospel to the world. (Acts 1-2) However, like Moses, the disciples were still left to some degree pursuing a Mystery.
LIVING BY FAITH, NOT SIGHT
Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 13, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Furthermore, John states, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2) God has created in humanity a longing and desire to pursue a Mystery whether or not we are followers of Christ. On the one hand our challenge is this, will we become frustrated and deny or give up on what we cannot capture and/or understand? On the other hand, will we pursue the Mystery of God and rest by faith in the revelation of who Jesus is, even though we will not fully know Him until we enter into His presence in eternity? For those who choose to follow Jesus Christ and "...live by faith, not sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7) let us embrace Paul's words to Timothy as we pursue a Mystery, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will reward me on that day---and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (who have pursued this Mystery. italics mine) (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Pursuing Him,
Pastor Sheree
One of the challenges in the Christian life is the art of waiting. It is especially frustrating when we want to move ahead with our plans and hope that God will catch up. I have been waiting for God's direction regarding my next season of ministry and I have to confess it hasn't been easy. I have seen what appear to be potential opportunities that I would like to pursue, however deep down I know I need to wait for God to move. Recently, God reinforced my need to wait in a passage from the book of Numbers. In Numbers 9:15-23 Israel is making their way to the Promised Land. God's presence is manifested in the pillar of cloud that covered the Tabernacle during the day and the pillar of fire at night. In Numbers 9:17-18 we read, "Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped."NIV (italics mine) The Israelites remained in whatever place they were led until the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle. They didn't try to continue the journey on their own or according to their time table. The Israelites waited for the Lord to move without knowing where their next stop would be or for how long. We read, "Sometimes the cloud was over the Tabernacle only a few days...Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening to morning...Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month, or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out." (Numbers 9:21-22 NIV)
We Follow When God Moves
What caught my attention was no matter how long or short the period of sojourn was, when God moved, the Israelites followed. What we sometimes fail to appreciate is the huge challenge that movement presented for the Israelites. There were thousands of people having to pack up their belongings and get ready to go. Additionally, the Tabernacle had to be taken down and set back up in the next place God led the people. I can only imagine that at times the Israelites may have become frustrated when their sojourn in a new place was only for two days and they had to pack up and move after having settled down. It has similarly been frustrating for me and somewhat disheartening that I find myself on the move just when I think I have settled for a long period of time into a new church community. However, like the Israelites I need to wait for God to move and sometimes the wait is short, sometimes long, and sometimes unexpected. The Israelites knew they would not ultimately be settled until they reached the Promised Land. Right now I don't have a sense of feeling settled but I must wait until God's cloud is "lifted" and then I need to move with Him.
Jesus Calls Us To Move
Jesus mirrors the same principle in the New Testament. He called His disciples then and now to "follow Me." Jesus' call is both literal and spiritual. Literally, we are to follow Jesus to whatever place He calls us to minister in his name whether inside or outside of the church community. Spiritually, Jesus calls us to follow His commands and emulate His way of life that we may deepen our relationship with Him and serve others. When a teacher of the law declared that he would follow Jesus wherever he went, Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8:18-20 NIV) Right now, I have no place to "lay my head" but I need to follow the Lord's pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. I need to stay wherever God has called me to serve for whatever length of time God determines and move when He determines, after that time is finished. It is easy to focus on the past and what was, versus looking forward to what God has for us in the future. Isaiah and Paul sum it up best, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV) "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 3:13b-14 NIV) May we trust God to lead and guide us in His perfect timing.
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Sheree
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5)
On January 21, 2019 we will once again recognize and celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy. Dr. King fought for the rights of black Americans who were experiencing discrimination and segregation. However, prior to Dr. King's achievements there were many others who fought for the rights and freedoms of black Americans. Among them were many notable women. Sojourner Truth who was born a slave in Hurley, New York and worked as a servant, became a powerful voice against slavery. She felt God's call to a greater mission as an abolitionist. As a result she began a ministry as an itinerant preacher delivering God's judgment against the evils of slavery and in time she joined this theme with a commitment to women's rights. Sojourner Truth, like Dr. King faced great opposition and at times violent mobs. Yet she never doubted slavery would end and was present in the capital in 1865 when Congress ratified the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Her struggle for freedom and equality continued until the day she died on November 26, 1883 at the age of 86 years.
"Black Moses"
Similarly, Harriet Tubman who was often referred to as the black "Moses" of her time was the "conductor" hero of the Underground Railroad. She, like Sojourner Truth was also born a slave. In December 1849, she escaped from slavery and began rescuing slaves in 1850. She helped lead dozens of runaway black slaves to freedom, including her own parents who were led to freedom in 1857. In April 1858 she was introduced to abolitionist John Brown, who unlike Dr. King, advocated the use of violence to destroy slavery in the United States. When the war ended, Harriet Tubman retired to her family home and like Sojourner Truth became active in the women's suffrage movement. In January 1863 shortly after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, she became the commander of the team in charge of espionage. In March 1913, Harriet Tubman died at the age of 93 of pneumonia in the Home for Aged Colored People that she helped found. The home was later renamed in her honor.
"Sanctuary"
When we look at the church today, some still question why black people form separate congregations. Hated for their skin color, black people rarely found love, acceptance, and safety outside family except in one place: the Black church. At Sunday worship, Wednesday prayer meetings, Friday youth nights, summer day camps--the historically Black church was a true sanctuary from a time of terror and rejection. As a black woman pastor, I can understand the feelings of rejection. It is difficult to find true sanctuary when color, gender, and/or giftedness becomes a barrier to ministry. Yet like, my abolitionist sisters before me, I seek the only sanctuary and shelter that sees me as a daughter of the King. In Psalm 27, David declares three promises from the Lord in times of trouble. He will keep me safe in His dwelling, He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent, and He will set me high upon a rock. (verse 5) It's a comfort to know that like the church which sheltered the black slaves, the Lord is a sheltering God. He is, was, and will always be a sanctuary to all needing refuge.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Pastor Sheree
