|
January
2009
New Beginnings
Here it is, 2009!!!
We are officially launching the
ministry of "Haven of Hope Ministries".
As I pray about the future of how
God wants to use this ministry, there is a strong
anticipation for the coming year.
It is really two-fold, as I
anticipate it will be a year where the support systems we
have put our trust in as Americans will continue to crumble.
Yet, as I anticipate the ministry
of Haven of Hope, I realize how significant it is that we,
as the body of Christ, rise to the occasion and be ready to
be a haven of hope to our world.
God wants each and every one of us
to carry out the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and
be ready to offer hope to the people around us whose hopes
are vanishing and will continue to crumble. As I preached
this last week, "This is not Obama's moment or anyone
else's - this is God's moment!!!"
This is also the moment God has
been preparing His people for.
All the difficulties you and I have
been experiencing have been preparing us to trust God and to
be able to stand when all else fails.
God's Word
to His People
In Isaiah 7:1-9, God
said to the people of Judah, who were facing certain doom as
the Assyrian army rose against them, "It will not
happen."
In the face of bad
news, God gave them three truths that I believe are for us
today as followers of Jesus Christ.
1) The threats
toward God's people will not succeed. (vs. 7b)
2) What is
overwhelming to us is no big deal to God. (vs. 8-9a)
(notice God's wording as He refers to the enemy as being
"only" them!)
3) We must take a
stand. (vs. 9b)
"If you do not
stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all!"
Our purpose at Haven
of Hope Ministries is restoration to pastors and their
families and preparation of young people spiritually for
ministry.
Please pray for this
endeavor and myself as God leads it forward. Pray for the
prayer movement that is being led by Andy Knuth, a partner
in ministry.
You also are an
important part as you pray and allow God to use you to be a
haven of hope to others.
Prayerfully,
Pastor Rick Messer |
