In HOPE

  In HOPE 6.18                                  back to home                        David Timms

Ministry Resource

For those of you pondering the future shape of the Church in the western world, you'll find grist for the mill in Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch's The Shape of Things to Come (Hendrickson, 2003; 236 pages). These two Australians are leading thinkers in the emergent church movement.

Hope Happenings

The Summer schedule is well underway. Students are scattered around the world, while various other groups use our campus. But behind the scenes much continues to happen to shape the future of the University. Please continue to pray for our Administrators who are amidst planning, negotiating, recruiting, and so much more.

 

Hope International University
Fullerton, CA 92831

 

"Spiritual people are not those who engage in certain spiritual practices; they are those who draw their life from a conversational relationship with God." (Dallas Willard)


God's Voice

Does God still speak today? That question provokes a wide range of answers from believers.

Some, for whom Christianity is primarily a moral system, raise their eyebrows in surprise or narrow their eyes in suspicion at such a suggestion. Others, for whom God's voice has been too still and too small, suggest He spoke in Scipture and all we have are echoes of an ancient word. Still others, who yearn for more intimacy with the Lord, suggest that He speaks on everything and has an opinion about every decision we face.

Multiple variations exist between these basic positions. So, what can we make of it?

Francis Schaeffer got it right. God is here, and He is not silent.

He speaks through creation. Who among us has not experienced "deep calling to deep" at the sight of a magnificent tree or a glorious starry night? He speaks through people. Have we never heard wisdom from a friend or teacher? He speaks through His Word. In quiet moments as we read attentively (rather than studiously), He takes the written Word and brings it to life in our hearts.

He speaks to us through our conscience . C.S. Lewis aptly showed that God's Spirit quickens us to know right and wrong. He speaks to us through prayer. Why would we pray if we felt otherwise? He speaks to us in our thoughts and feelings. He knows our hearts and minds and dwells in the innermost places within us, so we can be sure that He desires dialogue in that deepest place.

Does the Lord have a word in every situation? Of course not. Good parenting frequently requires silence. We stunt the maturing process of our children if we speak constantly, make every decision for them, or control everything they do. Our children need both our guidance and our silence.

The Lord speaks more than most people realize, and less than some people hope. Perhaps we'd hear Him better if we ourselves spoke less and listened more. Ultimately, we demonstrate our maturity in Christ, not when we can defend our faith strongly, state our theology concisely, quote Scripture prolifically, or point to our moral lifestyle proudly, but when we draw our own life from a conversational relationship with Him .

He has given us ears to hear. Let's hear.

In HOPE -

David

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David Timms serves in the Graduate Ministry Department at Hope International University in Fullerton, California. "In HOPE", however, is not an official publication of the University and the views expressed are not necessarily those of the Administrators or Board of the institution. "In HOPE" has been a regular e-publication since January, 2001.

For back issues of In HOPE, see http://www.hiu.edu/inhope/