William Vanderbloemen's Thoughts on Hope

Where can you find hope?

I have hope for the future. God has hope for your future. He has promised it. And so I believe you should enter today choosing to hope.

But what does that mean? Where do we find hope?

Sometimes, people think that hope can be secured by living well enough. The thinking goes like this, “If I invest well, my future will be secure.” Or, “If I follow the rules, if I keep my nose clean, if I do what is right, then I have a reason to hope.”

But if you have read the news at all, you know we cannot invest well enough to secure a hope. If you have lived long enough, you have probably realized that none of us are able to keep all the commandments, or live well enough to secure our hope.

This week, I studied and found that the word hope does not occur in the Bible until the book of Ruth. That may not sound important, but a little reflection brought me to an important realization. The word hope cannot be found in the first five books of the Bible, the books that our faith has called “The Law.” My realization,

You will not find hope in the Law.

You will not find hope in your behavior. Nor will you find it in what you know. You will find it in a different kind of relationship with God, one that is based on a heart to heart connection.

Maybe you have been trying too hard to build your own future, or secure your own hope. Let today be a day that is committed to a new kind of hope, one that is based on a heartfelt connection to God. When you do, behavior will flow out it. And hope will flow through your life.

Hopeful,

William

*Read more of Pastor William Vanderbloemen's blog posts here.

A Prayer of St. Augustine

“O Lord, who has warned us that you will require much of those to whom much is given; grant that we whose lot is cast in so godly a heritage may strive together the more abundantly by prayer, by almsgiving, by fasting, and by every other appointed means, to extend to others what we so richly enjoy; and as we have entered into the labors of other men, so to labor that in their turn other men may enter into ours, to the fulfillment of your holy will, and our own everlasting salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

– Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

By the way, I'm finding these prayers on a great blog, the Missional Church Network.

Africa by Toto performed a capella. Incredible!

A good friend just sent this to me. I was a huge Toto fan in the 80s and 90s. I know the song well. This a capella group starts by simulating rain, then performs the song, with all the nuance of the original, but with no instruments. Wonderful stuff. Thank you, Liz, for sending this to me!

A Prayer of Thomas Aquinas

“Most merciful God, order my day so that I may know what you want me to do, and then help me do it. Let me not be elated by success or depressed by failure. I want only to take pleasure in what pleases you, and only to grieve at what displeases you.

For the sake of your love I would willingly forgo all temporal comforts. May all the joys in which you have no part weary me. May all the work which you do not prompt be tedious to me. Let my thoughts frequently turn to you, that I may be obedient to you without complaint, patient without dejection, and serious without solemnity. Let me hold you in awe without feeling terrified of you, and let me be an example to others without any trace of pride.”

- Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)

Drought Conditions

Well, we all knew the drought conditions here in Texas were bad. This data from LCRA confirms it. See those dark red areas? That's where the conditions are the worst. Guess where we live. Pray, pray, pray for rain!

A Prayer of St. Benedict

At the Missional Church Network blog, I read the following prayer by St. Benedict (480-547):

Gracious and Holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive You,
intelligence to understand You,
diligence to seek You,
patience to wait for You,
eyes to behold You,
hearts to meditate upon You,
and a life to proclaim You,
through the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ our Lord.

What a prayer. It encompasses so much! I need to pray it daily. Thank you, Lord, for inspiring people like St. Benedict to put into writing what so many of us need to be expressing in our own prayer life.

July 5th Patriotic Service

We had a wonderful worship service on July 5th. I wrote about it over at the FBC Wimberley Music Ministry blog. Of course, I think it's worth your time, so click here to read it.