Week of July 12, 2009

  • Pastor David Hillis
  • Jul 13, 2009

Hi everyone!  I trust you are having a good start to your week, and staying cool as best as you can.  

In talking this past Sunday about praying for God’s will to be done in our lives, I thought I would share with you a few words from Henri Nouwen, one of the greatest Christian devotional writers of our time, who died just over a decade ago.  These words come from his private personal journal (so were originally written to himself).  He entitled this entry, “Give Your Agenda to God”:

Henri NouwenYou are very concerned with making the right choices about your work.  You have so many options that you are constantly overwhelmed by the question “What should I do and what should I not do?”  You are asked to respond to many concrete needs.  There are people to visit, people to receive, people to simply be with.  There are issues that beg for attention, books it seems important to read, and works of art to be seen.  But what of all this truly deserves your time?

Start by not allowing these people and issues to possess you.  As long as you think that you need them to be yourself, you are not really free.  Much of their urgency comes from your own need to be accepted and affirmed.  You have to keep going back to the source: God’s love for you.

In many ways, you still want to set your own agenda.  You act as if you have to choose among many things, which all seem equally important.  But you have not fully surrendered yourself to God’s guidance.  You keep fighting with God over who is in control.

Try to give your agenda to God.  Keep saying, “Your will be done, not mine.”  Give every part of your heart and time to God and let God tell you what to do, where to go, when and how to respond.  God does not want you to destroy yourself.  Exhaustion, burnout, and depression are not signs that you are doing God’s will.  God is gentle and loving.  God desires to give you a deep sense of safety in God’s love.  Once you have allowed yourself to experience that love fully, you will be better able to discern who you are being sent to in God’s name.

It is not easy to give your agenda to God.  But the more you do so, the more “clock time” becomes “God’s time,” and God’s time is always the fullness of time.

 

Did you know?

  • Pastor Duane and Sheri are in Oregon on vacation, after having spent time at the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon (in Utah).  Please keep them in your prayers!
  • There are currently 15 families at Hope who are still dealing with unemployment (at least those I know of).  At least another 4 families are dealing with underemployment (only have temporary or part-time jobs, but need more to become financially stable).  Please pray for these families this week.
  • There are 9 kids who will be with Pastor Brian this week at Saddleback Church in California for leadership training.  There are 22 junior high students and 6 students in 4th-6th grades at Hope who will be leaving with Pastor Brian on Sunday for a week at Camp Alpine.  Pray for these kids’ experience with God as they are away, and for Pastor Brian as he is away from his family!
  • Jeff Smith will be moving to New Mexico in a couple of weeks; Elizabeth Sanders will be moving to Kentucky soon after.  Godspeed...we will sorely miss you!
  • This Thursday night is a very important meeting regarding our work with the East Valley Men’s Center.  That meeting will determine whether we will have enough interest/commitment to continue serving there.  If you are interested, please attend and let your voice be heard!  It will be at Hope from 7-8p.

Blessings!

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