Imagine

A blue 2003 Buick drives north on Eastman Avenue.  There are four people in the car, dad, mom, and a couple of friends.  They are on their way to Applebees for dinner.  They drive by the Midland Free Something-or-other building where the Church meets and all four of them do a quick glance at the sign without making it obvious.

"Do you have hope for 2011?"

One of them thinks, "it's about time they took the "Merry Christmas" down.  Another remembers last year when she saw her name on the sign.  A third hears his mind think, "no," before he can control it.  The forth is thinking about fajitas.

It's that third person that we work with, that we live next to, that we are friends with.  It's that third person that we need to talk to.  It's that third person that needs to know about the hope of knowing Christ.

I think about the church people that the third person knows.  I wonder if they are able to live hope in front of him.  I wonder if they know how important their life is to Him.  I wonder if they know that they don't have to preach.  I wonder if they know the third person doesn't need religious clichés or memorized answers to questions they aren't even asking.

It's that third person they we wanted to reach in 2010.  It's that third person that I have in my mind as we start the New Year.  Sometimes that third person comes to our church.  Sometimes that third person may be... you.

Imagine

The hope of love that won't leave you.

The hope of faith that won't give you easy answers.

The hope of a tomorrow that's deeper than what I get or what I lose.

The hope of a spirit that is confident that it will remain solid through any storm.

Imagine that for you.  Imagine that for your relatives.  Imagine that for the person you've given up on.  Imagine that for the 3rd person. If I can imagine it I can pray it.

I'm starting the New Year looking for the 3rd person.  "Do you have hope for 2011?"

Answering "Yes,"

Pastor Dave