Rev. George Ellis
Pastor’s Corner
Today, this message is two-fold. It speaks to safety, protection and care provided for by our heavenly Father; but it is also a call to the Christian church to be a light in a dark world, especially in dark times.
With God’s strength, we can handle anything that comes our way. What a reminder to us of how the Lord keeps us burning. The Lord will always give light in the dark. What an encouragement to all of us today that the Lord will always provide.
See, in the midst of troubling times we can lose sight of the big picture. Oh yes, the atmosphere is just right in this day and time to throw us off, cause us to lose our balance and become distracted from the real thing.
Know this, that Satan’s tactic is to distract, to shift our focus and cause us to see ghosts in the night; to cause us to stumble in the dark, because that’s what being frightened will do. It will cause us to not think rationally.
Now those who do not have good vision do not like to drive in the dark, but when they do drive they make sure that their headlights are on high to give them better vision. That’s the way God is — he shines as a light to give his children light in dark times; so that we will have something to hold on to. That light from heaven shines right now, today at this very moment.
With all that is going on around us, if we look, we can see that light in these dark times. Satan, however, will deflect that light; it works to his advantage when we as Christians focus on the darkness and the negativity; and by that I mean when we look at the waves and the storms and the winds all around us and we take our eyes off Jesus. It can cause us to lose faith, hope and we began to sink (Matt. 14:24-30).
That’s why every one of us needs to keep our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:2). Don’t care what’s going on, stay focused; don’t care what nobody else does or says, stay focused on Jesus!
But I have found that in every age of human history, when times were at their darkest, that God has always found a way to shine through to his people. I know that our country is in turmoil; I know there are people stressed, mentally and emotionally drained; don’t’ know what to do; what has happened over the last couple of weeks that our eyes have seen has brought deep wounds to the hearts of all Americans regardless of our ethnic backgrounds; add to that the death tolls of the coronavirus and those that have the disease and it can put us in the closet.
But not me!
I choose to live and not die. Why die before my time? Like many of us, my stomach cringed every time I saw the replay of the senseless death of George Floyd; it cringed when I saw the senseless death of David Dorn in St. Louis by a looter and the senseless rioting, looting, burning and destruction of property of innocent victims, some just beginning to re-open that followed after that. But then the blinking lights from Heaven that breaks through darkness reminded me instantly of who I am and whose I am.
He reminded me of who He is.
I instantly came back to my senses, to the realization of the blessed hope that I have in Christ Jesus beyond this world (Titus 2:13); and I could say, like David, “You Lord, keep my lamp burning.”
“Thou wilt light my candle, that is, thou wilt revive and comfort my sorrowful spirit, and not leave me sad (Ps. 18:28).”
And why will God do that? He will do it because we are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). And we cannot shine if our lights are dim; for how can we be light in the dark when our lights have gone out?
See, the world was already in darkness before the coronavirus came; before the tragic death of George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery, we were already headed down a downward spiral; immorality and evil had corroded our community and the nation. But especially now we are in a dark place and God’s people ought to be shining … holding up our light as a beacon in stormy weather to those in the darkness, the unchurched; we ought to be shining, holding up our light for the world to see — on our jobs, in our homes, in our communities, highways and by-ways
Jesus himself said, “You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its ability to season or purify a corrupt world, it is no good at all (Matt: 5:13).” He then said, “You are the light of the world (vs 14).”
We all know, in the summertime at night, that bugs and mosquitoes fly around aimlessly in the dark with nowhere to go. But as soon as the light comes on, dispelling the dark, the bugs flock to the light. That’s the way we ought to be; we ought to be drawing people to our light.
But what is darkness? Hatred is darkness; community shootings and killings is darkness; racial hatred and discrimination is darkness. But when we shine for Jesus in the dark; when we turn on the light, they will flock to the light.
“Let us hold up the light!”
The Rev. George Ellis is pastor at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
"light" - Google News
June 11, 2020 at 07:10PM
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'Let us hold up the light' - Laurinburg Exchange
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