Reading Numbers 3 this morning, I saw a portable worship set up. The Levites were the ones who took care of the worship equipment and set up, moving it all from place to place.
I had never noticed that their work was similar to what portable churches do today. Some of the Levites carried tent poles, some the curtains, others the utensils. They had to move the tabernacle around in the desert, following the Pillar of Cloud/Fire. Now, they would set up for up to months at a time, not setting up and taking down every week. But the similarities are there. Eventually, after 40 years, they entered the Promised Land, and the real battles began.
For years Crossroads has been a nomadic people in Stokesdale. We have met in 9 places: houses, school facilities, a nursing home, borrowed church buildings. Now it seems like we are entering the Promised Land. We have bought a building, and we are completing the construction now to make it an assembly space.
I wonder, though, if the battles are just now beginning. We soon will have much more opportunity for ministry. We will be able to share the love of Jesus with our community much better, with a place of outreach and ministry.
But when Israel went into the Promised Land, they had to fight for it. We have gone through the requisite red tape, but there are certainly spiritual battles ahead. As we work aggressively to build the kingdom of God, there will be spiritual opposition.
We need to pray for God's leadership, so that his Spirit will guide us and bring us success. The battle is the Lord's. We need to remember that and stay on our knees.
