Dear Graduate,
Congratulations on your incredible achievement! We stand here so proud of your accomplishments, excited for your future and prayerful for you as you pursue your dreams.
As your Pastor and friend, we want to pause to congratulate you as you finish and encourage you as you begin. You are now on a journey of leading a legacy. A definition of legacy is "someone’s lasting contribution to the world." Your legacy is a result of what you have focused on in your life, and is the expression, through action, of your primary message. Check out this verse:
“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
I love this verse because it gives us a pattern to live by and I think a legacy that you can pursue. My prayer for you is that as you finish this part of your education, no matter where your future takes you, that you begin the lifelong process of leading a legacy that will change your generation.
It seems that the more choices get made in our lives, the more complexity sets in and then the tendency is for my faith to either slip or get complex. If we had one piece of advice for you, it would be don't add Jesus to your life. Don't do what so many do. Don't make Him one "piece" of your life. He is all that matters.
It is complexity that brings apathy. When you keep things just about Jesus – you keep things simple. Instead of asking what would Jesus do, can I just say…do what He did! He always put people first. He always risked everything for God's Kingdom. He began a revolution that you have been chosen to be part of. You are marked by God to be used by God to change the world for God. Please don't be led away from your simple and pure devotion to Jesus.
We’re praying for you, we’re standing with you and we are believing in you, as you pursue God’s dream for your life.
John & Michelle Bishop
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Last week we began a new series that became a defining moment for hundreds of people.
We looked at Hebrews 11 to define faith, and we illustrated faith with Luke 5:11,12. In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Here is my simple definition of faith: believing who God is and trusting that He can. When the day is over, whatever God does is the right thing whether we like it or not. The fact is that misguided or misunderstood faith can lead to disappointment and hurt. In order for our faith to be effective, and to be dangerous, it must be founded in truth and centered on Jesus. My challenge to everyone this week is to read Hebrews 11. We will be using this passage of scripture as the platform for this series about Dangerous Faith, which is essentially: a faith that gets noticed.
This week I want to talk about the times when faith has to fight. Throughout the Bible there are multiple times when God asked people to step into a place and fight. In fact, most of those times were when things didn’t make sense; when there was no human answer or solution. That’s when God had to show up. I guess you could call that Only God Faith. Don’t miss the weekend.
When I think of faith I am so blessed to be part of the lives of so many campus pastors and leaders and volunteers. Every campus is experiencing growth, unity, and blessing. If you haven’t yet, check out the different campus Facebook pages, and please remember to pray for our campuses.
You can find links to all the Living Hope Campus pages here LIVING HOPE
Quick Updates
Brush Prairie
Our Brush Prairie campus reopened last weekend with an 11am service. We are working on technology that will allow that campus to have a direct live feed from the mall campus. Check this out: attendance at 11:00am at the mall was almost 1200 people (about 90% capacity). There were over 400 at the 11:00am at Brush Prairie. The simple reality is that as a church we stepped out in faith, and are now reaching double the amount of people at 11:00am that we were just several months ago.
I say it over and over, but I love being part of a church that will risk to reach people. When the day is over that is what it is all about.
Open House at the Mall
Please note the times have changed from 6:00pm – 9:00pm, every day this week. Staff will be there every day with movies, games, bands, guitar hero etc, so make sure you come by and check it out.
On a final note I ask you to please pray. I have knee surgery scheduled for tomorrow. I have put it off multiple times and really need to get it done. I have been dealing with a torn meniscus for over two years and now is the time to get it fixed.
Thinking about the surgery got me thinking about faith, and fear, and how real fear is. There are over 500 documented phobias and countless fears that people have. Mine just happens to be things like surgery, and needles etc. My wife has no problem with it, but it’s just not my favorite thing to do, even though I know it will ultimately be a good thing. I ask for your prayers for the surgery and for a quick recovery so I can speak this weekend.
I am excited for what I know God is going to do.
See you this weekend.
JOHN
