A Lot Can Happen – by Pastor Eric Case

These are the names of some friends of mine:   Lindsey Stratton Elizabeth Sydney Evan Lori Josh Mike Lindsay What they all have in common is that at some recent point, they (a) intentionally set aside some time to seek God, and (b) God was faithful, showed up, and did something pretty revolutionary. A call to ministry… Surrender of sin… A call to give their best… A call to go deeper into relationship with God… A call to follow Jesus in a more radical way… In short, this list of names (by no means complete) is just a short glimpse into what God can do with a little time and space. Each of these friends of mine committed to digging in to a segment of time, in most cases 40 days, but sometimes shorter, and sometimes longer, during which they would raise their level of focus, of openness to God, of willingness in order give God room to work in their lives. This is no small thing. This is an entirely normal occurrence for God’s people. Over and over in the Bible we see stories of people who somehow alter their normal routine in order to wake themselves up, in a sense, and orient their lives around what God may want to do in and through them. These are times of great change and preparation: Moses goes to Midian before experiencing God and returning to lead Israel. Israel spends 40 years(!) wandering the wilderness before entering Canaan. Jesus goes into the wilderness for 40 days to prepare for his ministry. Taking a defined period of time and setting it aside is normal and appropriate for us; we need to be jostled out of our routines, we need to be jarred awake from the normal rhythm of our lives in order to ask, “God, what might you want to do in me and through me? Help me set aside this time to pay attention to you in a special way.” I-and the rest of the staff and leaders of this community-invite you to pray this prayer, and to set aside the time, and to add your name to the list of people whom God has changed, awakened, and catalyzed during Pathways 2012.