Rolling Hills Community Church Tualatin

I ran into some friends at Costco yesterday whom I haven’t seen for some time. They asked me, “What’s new?” I quickly responded, “Not much; I’m pretty bored without much going on.” Obviously we shared a good laugh together.

Dale’s announcement is now over a month old. It’s been a month of processing the unexpected announcement and rightfully praising God for His faithful work through Rolling Hills under Dale’s leadership over the last three decades. I’m excited to see how God continues to work in Dale & Linda as they begin this new adventure.
As each day passes, I find a sense of anticipation building within me for what God will do in this next chapter of Rolling Hills to impact the lives of people in our community and all over the world.

It’s hard for me to imagine the excitement the Children of Israel must have had as they stood on the banks of the Jordan, knowing they were about to step into the Promised Land. Most had anticipated this day for well over 40 years. In fact, it had been over 500 years since this land was promised to their father, Abraham. In Joshua 3 and 4, God reminds them of a truth that was so easy for them, and us of a powerful truth. Here’s my paraphrase of God’s reminder, “It’s My work, it has been My work, and I will be the one who works tomorrow. Trust and follow Me.”
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (3:5 NASB).
There was excitement, but there must also have been some anxiety as they saw the swollen Jordan River and thought about the fortified cities that lay on the other side; there were still giants in the land. Isn’t this typical of life? Often, when we have high hopes, there are accompanying challenges that we face at the same time.
Their time of consecration was followed by instructions to let the Ark of the Covenant lead them. This drove home the point that as the people of Israel set out to cross the Jordan, and invade and possess the land, they must do so not in their own strength, but in God’s, for it was God Himself who would perform miracles beyond what they could imagine.

God will continue to lead us as well. He’ll lead us into real, accountable relationships that the Spirit will use to transform us into thinking and living more like Jesus. As our heart for God grows, people in the midst of unexpected crises will find our hand reaching out to help them. Believing friends will lift up marriages on the brink of collapse and in God’s power, offer hope for healing and health. Many of the 200,000+ people within seven miles of RHCC who have not experienced the hope found only in Jesus…will. This multigenerational body of believers will have the more experienced and mature sages pour their wisdom of following Jesus into the younger generations who will serve with vision and energy.

Joshua 3:5b, “for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” The people of Israel were to expect God to work a miracle. They were to be eager, gripped by a sense of wonder. Israel was not to lose sight of their God who can do the incredible and the humanly impossible. Neither will we.