In HOPE

  In HOPE 7.18                                  back to home                        David Timms

A New Book

Recently, Bethany House Publishers contracted me to write a book entitled Living the Lord's Prayer.  In that book, I'll get to expand considerably on the "In HOPE" series we shared at the end of last year. The book is due to the editors by December 1. My thanks to those of you who encouraged me to pursue this. Now, since you got me into this, please pray me through it! :-)

Hope Happenings

Thanks to those of you who prayed for our graduate ministry students who travelled to the Hope campus last week. We enjoyed a rich time of fellowship and learning together, and thank God for His leading throughout the week.

Hope International University
Fullerton  CA  92831

"The Now is no mere nodal point between the past and the future. It is the seat and region of the Divine Presence itself.... The Now contains all that is needed for the absolute satisfaction of our deepest cravings.... In the Now we are at home at last."  (Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion)

In The Now

It's awkward and painful. Everything within us resists it. We're conditioned to plan, taught to strategize, and expected to have a future perspective. ("What will we do with our lives?") And in the process we lose sight of the Present Christ.

We want to steer our own lives and the lives of others towards goals -- spiritual goals, church goals, family goals, career goals, and more. Those goals absorb our attention and our journey becomes preoccupied with the future not the Present.

However, pastoral care, friendships, and relationships all happen in the Now. Intimacy -- a lost art in a future-obsessed culture -- emerges from attentiveness to the moment. While we continue to look ahead, anticipate, plan, and project, we find that tomorrow's focus obscures today's opportunity.

Some of us carefully structure and organize our everyday lives, believing that if we can control this moment we will better handle any unknown moment just around the corner. But when we fail to live fully in the Now, we minimize faith.

Faith implicitly suggests that we trust the unknown to the Known One. Authentic faith declares that we don't need to plan, control, or manage every detail of our lives. Deep faith trusts our past mistakes and our future uncertainties to Christ.

Furthermore, as we live with Him in the Now ...

We discover that prayer is not asking for His leading tomorrow, but simply aligning ourselves with Him today.

We approach His Word as our present help not our future guide.

We listen for His voice rather than rush past Him.

We experience contentment instead of concern, gratitude instead of grumbling, peace instead of pressure, and faith instead of fear ... whatever the circumstances.

We discern His will amidst the crowd of voices in our lives.

May He grant each of us the grace to become a little more shortsighted.   

In HOPE -

David

Want to chat more on a topic? Hit "Reply" and share your thoughts.

If you would like to subscribe to "In HOPE" simply email [email protected] and write "Subscribe to In HOPE" in the subject line. This is a free service; no advertisements; no sharing of the e-list. Unsubscribe in the same way.

For back issues of "In HOPE" (2005-2007) go to http://www.hiu.edu/inhope/.

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.