Where's The Hope?

Another Thanksgiving is upon us and soon to follow, the first Sunday of Advent. However, it doesn't appear these days that many are very hopeful. Since the election I have experienced an overall increase in fear and distress from many of the clients who come for counseling. I am especially dismayed when I hear hopelessness from those clients who profess faith in Jesus Christ. During the whole long ordeal of the campaign and the negative rhetoric from both sides, I have been consistently reminding clients that God is sovereign. He already knew who would be occupying the White House and He is not upset or dismayed. Whatever the outcome it all fits into God's overall plan. Yet, when the results of the election started to pour in, many people were shocked and disappointed at what they had perceived as an easy victory for one of the candidates. What was even more disturbing is the apparent division that seemed to occur between brothers and sisters in Christ. We as the body of Christ did not necessarily provide a good example to the world of offering hope in the midst of despair, of demonstrating peace in the midst of chaos. Lest we forget that the political struggles that we have experienced and its aftermath are nothing new in the history of humanity. Centuries ago, a nation and a people were in turmoil. The Jews were being occupied by a government that they did not like which forced them to comply with laws that at times were contrary to their belief in the one true God. Furthermore, the ruler at the time happened to be a narcissistic, insecure man named Herod (Matthew 2) who was so paranoid that scholars state he actually murdered members of his own family who he thought were plotting against him. It was this same Roman government that decreed a census to be taken of the entire Roman world, necessitating that Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem to comply with the law. (Luke 2:1-7) Furthermore, upon receiving the news that the King of the Jews had been born, Herod in his fear of losing his rule, ordered the death of all the boys in Bethlehem that were under two years of age. Can you imagine the horror and devastation experienced by those families who lost their children? The grief and agonizing pain of watching your child murdered and the helplessness of being unable to stop it. (Matthew 2:16-18) If that weren't enough Mary and Joseph had to go on the run with their child not back to their home in Nazareth but to another country all together which was Egypt.(Matthew 2:13-14) How long Jesus and his parents were in Egypt is not known, nevertheless their world had been turned upside down. It was overwhelming enough for Mary and Joseph to be told that she would carry and bear the Savior of the world but now this child's birth was changing everything! Therein, lies the point. Jesus' birth changes everything and those who call themselves His followers are the bearers of this good news to the world. Followers of Christ need to be the standard bearers. We need to bring the hope of the world to the reality of the situations and circumstances over which we have no control. God did not wake up on November 9th surprised by the outcome of the election. Instead, God is calling us to remember that He is the One who alone is trustworthy. He alone knows the beginning and the end. He writes the story and has already let us in on the ending. For God has provided us with the answer to our deepest longings and our darkest fears. His name is Jesus. So as we gather around our Thanksgiving tables, let us "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." (Psalm 107:1)  Some may think that what I am proposing is unrealistic and idealistic. Believe me, I understand the anxiety as a black woman that some may be experiencing. However I have a choice to make about how I will respond whether it be in fear or in faith. As Advent draws near I am reminded of the words of an old hymn,The Solid Rock, that remains as true today as when it was penned years ago, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' Name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other 
ground is sinking sand."
May you enjoy a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!
Pastor Sheree

"It's The Great King Charlie Brown!"

Halloween is just around the corner and every year there are television adds as well as television programs promoting Halloween themes. One program that has become a classic is "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." I have always enjoyed creator Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters. There are many themes interwoven throughout "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" but the main focus is the excitement and expectation Linus has at the anticipation that the Great Pumpkin is coming. The Great Pumpkin as Linus understands it, rises up out of the pumpkin patch every Halloween delivering candy to all the good boys and girls around the world that sit dutifully waiting for him to appear. All of Linus's friends including Charlie Brown, think Linus is crazy and waisting his time. They decide they would rather take the guaranteed goodies and go trick or treating. Unfortunately Charlie Brown's trick or treat experience is less than desirable beginning with a botched Halloween costume and then receiving a rock instead of candy which is thrown into his bag at every house he visits with his friends. At the end of the evening Lucy, Linus' sister, goes back to check on Linus in the pumpkin patch. She finds Linus lying on the ground shivering from the cold. Lucy gets her brother up and takes him home to bed. The next morning Charlie Brown and Linus review the events of Halloween night and share their disappointments. However, Linus still believes that the Great Pumpkin will return next year and he will be ready and waiting. I don't know about you but there are times when I feel like Charlie Brown. Life hands me a bag of rocks which can become heavy and weigh me down. I would love to have the "sweet treats"of life on a regular basis. However, Jesus is quite clear in John 16:33 when He says,"In this world you will have trouble." The good news is the second part of that verse, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." The fact that Jesus has overcome death and the grave, giving us new life, is what keeps us persevering. It's the same perseverance that Linus demonstrates waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Linus is willing to wait patiently and with expectation that the Great Pumpkin will come and fulfill his promise to all the good boys and girls in the world. However, the reality is that the Great Pumpkin is a fantasy of Linus' imagination and will not be appearing any time in the future. Unlike the Great Pumpkin, our Lord Jesus Christ is not a fantasy of someone's imagination but He is alive and coming again. In John 14:1-3 Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am." Furthermore, in the book of Revelation 22:7,12,20 Jesus says three times that He is coming soon. The promises of Jesus encourage His followers to wait patiently and with expectation for the Lord's return with the same enthusiasm Linus demonstrated towards the Great Pumpkin. (Isaiah 30:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Titus 2:11-13; Galatians 6:9; Hebrews 12:1-3)  Jesus' return will be much more glorious than the Great Pumpkin's appearance and heaven will come down with Him. John puts it this way in Revelation 21:1-4, "Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,"Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Unlike Linus, we don't have to sit in a pumpkin patch hoping that Jesus will appear. In fact, He is with us right now through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit that dwells with every Christ follower and within every Christ follower. So, if I were Charlie Brown's friend and he was depressed over a fruitless and frustrating Halloween night that yielded only rocks, I would put my arms around him and tell him, "It's the Great King Charlie Brown!" "He is the One who can turn your rocks into riches! We don't need a sugar high when we can experience a "supernatural high" because of Jesus." As we approach the start of the Advent season at the end of November, let us wait once again with expectation for the glorious revelation of the first coming of our Lord and respond with enthusiasm to Jesus' declaration that He is coming again soon. "Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20b)
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you,
Pastor Sheree

Who Do You See?

A week does not go by when we are not confronted again with television images of a person of color who has been shot by police officers. Conversely we also see images of police officers who have been ambushed by some angry person out of a sense of revenge. The question that arises in both instances is who do you see? The answer to this question goes to the heart of how we respond to others that we perceive are different from us. This perception is not solely along racial lines but manifests itself in a myriad of different ways. For example, how do we perceive a person who may have a skin disorder which is visible to the outside world? In the Old and New Testaments we read about stories of people who lived with leprosy. The Hebrew and Greek words translated as "leprosy" were used to define various diseases affecting the skin not necessarily leprosy. Nevertheless, the response to those suffering with these skin disorders was ostracism. Additionally the person had to cry out "unclean" so others could be warned that the person who was literally considered "unclean" was headed in an individual's direction. The question who do you see? remains relevant. In the example of the leper, the individual's value and worth was demeaned and swallowed up by their outward appearance. Human nature has changed very little since Jesus walked the earth. In our culture today, we experience the same reactions to the perception that another person who we outwardly perceive as different has a diminished value. Slavery and racism are woven deep into the fabric of the history of the United States and has never truly "gone away" as some would like to believe. There have been attempts to gloss over our history and compartmentalize it to something that happened "a long time ago." However, those individuals like myself who have grown up seeing and experiencing segregation and hatred towards attempts to recognize that "all men are created equal" understand that years of oppression will not remain underground for long. This does not give oppressed people a license to rise up and commit heinous crimes out of a sense of injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed the course of history through non-violence during the Civil Rights Movement. His course of action mirrors what God calls us to in the Scriptures regarding how we perceive others. In 1 John chapters 3 and 4, strong language is used by John to point to the standard God expects when it comes to how we "see" others. "For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother....Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him." (1 John 3:12a,15) "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom, they have not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love their brother and sister." (1 John 4:20-21) (emphasis mine) When we hear words like "keep them out!" "send them back!" "frisk them down!" we are no longer in step with the Spirit of God. We are no longer seeing people, we are seeing objects, less than human, not created by God who clearly tells us that each person is "fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14a) So who do we see when that Muslim woman passes by wearing a birka? Do we see a possible terrorist or a woman who may have a family and who shares the same hopes, dreams, and fears for her children like other parents? Who do we see when that black person is walking along the street? Do we fear that person may be carrying a concealed weapon and ready to shoot anyone at any minute? Do we see a potential gang member? Do we see a possible welfare cheat? Do we even see a human being or some lesser species? If we fail to see a human being who has value and worth then we are truly blind and the Spirit of God has no place within us. When Samuel tried to judge who it was that God had sent him to anoint as king, Samuel tried to use the visual "litmus test", outward appearance. However, the Lord said to Samuel, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b) Jesus also had some things to say about the heart, "Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body," (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) He went on: "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come---sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." (Mark 7:18-23) Perhaps it's time to stop looking at people according to the broken and fallen standards of this world and get back to "seeing" through the eyes of God. May all who claim to follow Christ, be bold enough to pray this prayer on a consistent basis, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Sheree