Dear All Saints Family!
This is the last of my ‘trilogy’ of introductory messages as your new vicar! I hope you’re all doing ok and that you know how incredibly precious you are to us and to God! We’re continuing to settle here in Hoole and are so thankful to be able to increasingly share with you in Hoole life!
Last week I launched a new Sunday teaching series called, ‘All Things New’, which I hope you’ve been able to watch on our youtube page, if not actually in person. We looked at Isaiah 43:16-21 and the fact that God has a new season for us, hope for us even when all seems hopeless. I just wanted to briefly pick up on that. Remember in verse 18 we say that God invites us to ‘forget the former things, don’t live in the past,’ before he goes on to say ‘see I am doing a new thing.’ I think this ‘forgetting’ is so important for us. Forgetting the past, doesn’t mean rubbishing the past in this passage. It means that there are things that we can hold on to in the past that actually have a hold on us and prevent us from embracing what God has for us in the future. So some questions to keep processing, pray out and pray with others or in your home group maybe are:
What are my ‘former things?’
What am I holding on to?
What is preventing me from receiving the ‘new’ that God has in store?
To finish, I promised to share with you the ‘Welcoming Prayer’ that I use most mornings when I get up. You might like to make this a daily practice to start your day off, giving all these former things to God and placing yourself in a posture to receive whatever he has to give you. I hope this helps:
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me in this moment
because I know it is for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions,
persons, situations and conditions.
I let go of my desire for security.
I let go of my desire for approval.
I let go of my desire for control.
I let go of my desire to change any
situation, condition,
person, or myself.
I open to the
love and presence of God
and
the healing action and grace within.
––– Mary Mrozowski 1925-1993
May you know God’s freedom and be excited for this next season.
Love and prayers,
Craig
Vicar – All Saints, Hoole