April 2009

Be Encouraged! There is a Living Hope!

Spring is here. With it comes signs of new life. We are reminded that new life can come from that which appears dead.

What a display of the desire of God for His church and His people.

Out of the death of our culture God desires to give birth to new life in Christ. As we enter a time of celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection, I am reminded of the words of 1 Peter 1:3-4:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

Most have a dead hope. Their hope is in the things that have no real life in them - things that will fail and perish. But those in Christ possess a "Living Hope"! A hope that is real and "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade."

Our Living Hope is the Only Sure Thing!

As I send out these newsletters, it is my heart's desire to encourage you in the Lord. Yes there is much around us to be disheartened by. But there is so much more to be assured of in the One who has conquered death, hell, and the grave.

Romans 8:37 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us."

As believers, we are not called to just survive in hard times, but to thrive. What we have in Christ is not dependent upon the stock market, house market, or job market. God's call for the church is to rise up in the resurrection power of the great "I Am".

We can fill in the blank on a personal level. "In the year ______, I saw the Lord!"

That really does change everything. No matter what you place in the blank, our hope is in a personal encounter with God. "I saw the Lord!"

What is Happening at Haven of Hope

I am meeting with more pastors on a regular basis. I have received calls from those who are discouraged and in need of God's strength and renewal.

And if you are a pastor receiving this letter, know that you are in our prayers, and we are available to pray for your needs confidentially, and I am available to meet with you as well. We now have a web page where you can contact us:

Special Invitation

May 9th, 2009, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. we are uniting with the Rocky Mountain Prayer Movement to hold a 'Gathering' for all who would come together to worship and pray. Our only agenda is to meet with God and seek His face, pray one for another, and unite in prayer for our city.

It is our desire to make it a non-threatening gathering of believers who want to unite with others as we align ourselves with the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

Our only hope in these days is an encounter with God that transforms His people and empowers us to live out the Gospel of Jesus. We will meet at:

Pastor Rick Messer / Pastor of a church without walls