Pastor's Letter

Don't forget to set your clocks BACK one hour before you go to bed this coming Saturday night! Enjoy your extra hour of sleep!

Also, we will NOT have Wednesday Night Prayer and Praise at Old Humbldt Road this coming Wednesday evening at 5pm. Because we are pushing hard to be in our new building, we will meet at our new location and continue hanging sheet rock AND have a time to pause and pray for each other. We made a LOT of progress last night. With most of the walls up, you get a really good picture of how the church is going to look! If you haven't seen it yet, come by and take a look!

We received $2000 toward our $10,000 "building campaign" this past Sunday. We want to thank those who helped us toward our goal. Last night I spoke with the sign company and was told that our new sign would cost $4000! That's $2500 more than our old sign cost! In our new location, the building restrictions require each letter to be lighted. So we ask that even if you can't give right now, to please pray for God's favor. We've NEVER lacked for anything at Promise Church. God has ALWAYS provided. I believe that's come because of the steadfast prayers of our church body! So keep praying for favor! We're believing in James 5:16! "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results."

We also want to thank ALL of those who have contributed their labor to the building project. Many churches simply pay contractors to come in and do the work for them. I know it's been hard sometimes, but it has truly been a blessing to be a part of a team that has done the work. Not only have I learned how to hang sheet rock - a skill I'm still learning as you can see on my "practice wall" - but I've enjoyed the tremendous fellowship with church members who have given of their time and talents. Because of their efforts, the church has been "saved" literally thousands of dollars. More importantly than that though - when we worship, we will do so knowing that our labor over the past couple of months has been a holy offering to God!

We're still praying to be in by the middle of November. We will keep you posted on the EXACT Sunday we will begin worshipping in the new space. We have already planned an exciting Sunday of celebration so you will definitely want to be a part of our FIRST DAY in our new location!!!!

Remember God loves you and that you were created for GREATNESS in His kingdom!

See you Sunday!

Jay Hutchens
The Promise Church

Keep Awake!

We hear a lot about the end-times. The popular series "Left Behind" has left a huge footprint on American culture by fictionalizing the theology of the rapture within the context of today's news and events. It has been so powerful, in fact, that it is hard to imagine any other scenario of the return of Jesus that doesn't involve planes dropping out of the sky as their pilots are taken up into heaven!

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this trend in thinking has been the attempt to discern whether or not today is the actual day Jesus will come again. Some recent attempts by noted television preachers to demonstrate links between the book of Revelation and geo-political events in the Middle East leave little doubt that they expect the immediate, imminent return of Jesus. "We are in the final countdown," one friend of mine has observed who follows these preachers regularly.

The early church expected the imminent return of Jesus. So much so, that in Mark, chapter 13 Jesus tells his listeners to "keep awake - or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly." And so two thousand years of faithful watching have gone by as believers have kept "awake" looking for the return of our Lord.

I must confess that in all of my Bible study and what seems at times voluminous reading I have no idea when Jesus is coming again. I don't feel bad about that. Jesus himself said, "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come." (Mark 13:32-33). I figure that if Jesus wanted us to know, he would have told us.

Knowing when Jesus is coming really isn't the point, after all. The fact remains as Jesus described to his earliest disciples - he could come at any time so now is the time to be ready.

Liberal theologians have wrongly allegorized the return of Jesus as a kind of mythological time where one is confronted with an existential crisis of life through which they will either fall into the abyss of despair or - more hopefully - discover their true self. I can't imagine this is what Jesus had in mind as he taught hurting, broken people that the way to salvation was through the path of pain and brokenness (literally going through it by the grace of God to come out on the other side) but also living into lives of radical obedience and love. By faith in the power of the cross of Christ would one be saved. Salvation was, and is, the restoration of all fallen creation to its pre-fallen condition. Or if you prefer, to it's "post-fallen" or renewed condition. And the establishing of this new basileou, or kingdom, according to Jesus would be an event of cosmic proportion.

"But in those days, after that suffering,
The sun will be darkened,
And the moon will not give its light,
And the stars will be falling from heaven,
And the powers in the heavens will be shaken." (Mark 13:24-25)

In other words, "de-historicizing" Jesus's return into self-help therapy isn't the answer. When Jesus comes again, he will be coming to restore all things to himself, establish his reign, and make all things new. It won't just be my self-perception that is changed. It will be the whole created universe!

Our life as disciples following Jesus in obedience then is to make ourselves ready for that kingdom. There is much work to be done. Because, who knows? Jesus might come tonight - or tomorrow - or next week - or a hundred years from now. But when he does come I want to be as aligned in obedience as a faithful disciple as I can be. I want to be as true a reflection of his character that I can be. I want for Jesus to recognize in me when he returns the embodiment of all that he taught and lived for - and died for.

And so, today - even this very hour - I will "keep awake" because it could be this very day that my savior will return to restore creation to wholeness and I desire to be fully prepared to receive and experience that incredible blessing.

What we do know is that the visionary of Revelation expressed in light of all of the violence, power-struggle, natural tragedy, and sinful oppression of his day the simple cry to God, "Maranatha! Lord come quickly!" My challenge is to spiritually discern how that cry transforms my life into one of surrendered expectancy and preparation for that event. And so with the early church, I cry out - "Lord, come quickly!" And even though I don't know when he will return, I expect to see him soon. Do you?

Pressing On!

The hardest part of a race is not the beginning or even the end. It’s those meters or miles in the middle where you’ve either spent that initial burst of energy you had to begin the race or where you haven’t yet reached that point where you are motivated by the finish line just ahead. The middle part of the race is just plain drudgery. One simply presses on knowing that if they do they will soon be buoyed by sight of the end.

I’ve had to keep myself motivated during these “middle weeks” as we’ve worked on our new worship space at Promise Church. We began with a burst of energy – literally – as Dale Dodd and I met at our new space several weeks ago and began tearing out sheet rock so that we could build a new wall. There has been a lull these past two weeks as we’ve waited for skilled workers to install electrical outlets, rework the ceiling and lighting, reposition the A/C ducts and put the finishing touches on the new walls that will mark off our office space, kitchen, and worship space. Ask any nine year old. It’s just hard to wait for the finished product.

The author of Hebrews knew well the difficulty of those “middle miles.” The Christian walk, like any project, is fun and exciting in the beginning and then focused and meaningful as we approach the end. But it’s those middle years of life and ministry, where we need to be encouraged to “press on.”

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The cloud of witnesses, of course, refers to the great list in chapter 11 of Hebrews of the “pillars of the faith” like Abraham and Moses, Rahab and David and many others who like us believed in God and yet experienced days of longing and long-suffering looking forward to the time of the fulfillment of God’s promise. For many, that fulfillment didn’t come in their lifetime. Moses though he led the Israelites through forty years of wilderness wandering never himself saw the Promised Land. Abraham, though promised that his ancestors would number more than the stars in the sky, never himself saw the Great Kingdom of Israel in all of its glory under the reign of David. And David – who longed to build the temple of God – would have to see that project passed along and completed by his son, Solomon. God’s timing isn’t always our timing. And yet, the great people of God pressed on anyway.

Jesus (in the flesh) never saw the birth of the church. When he was crucified, his apostles – his closest friends and associates - scattered and even denied having known him. And yet, Jesus endured the cross knowing the future joy that awaited him when he “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There is joy even in those “middle miles” as we press on. Usually that is the time where God is preparing us for the finish. As Hebrews states, it is a time for laying aside the encumbrances and looking ahead. The wilderness wandering of the Israelites were a time of laying aside their spiritual dependence on something other than God and learning to depend on God alone. This is a season of growth, of being shaped, and of being prepared for the blessing. It can be a time also of learning to look to your Christian brothers and sisters for encouragement and help. Who knows? You may be the one giving the encouragement and help!

Don’t lose heart! If you feel like you are running the race and getting nowhere then have the confidence of knowing that God is using this time to prepare you for your blessing! There is work to be done in the meantime. People you know are looking to you to be an example of the “hope that is in you.” Whether you feel it or not, God is using you to bless the lives of others. Take heart, you are God’s chosen runner. The end of the race is nearer than we think and at the end is great celebration and rejoicing. In fact, the vision of that celebration can enliven us even today, as we quicken our step, share faith in boldness, and have the courage to minister in a world that desperately needs Jesus.

Let’s fix our eyes then on Jesus!