The Road Ahead

Thoughts from our Bishop

"In the beginning God ..."
Genesis 1:1

With annual conference behind us and the unknown future before us, my mind now turns to the questions that all of us ask whenever we begin another phase of any journey. What does the future hold for us? Can OIMC make the most of what lies ahead? What joys or sorrows await us? Let′s face it, we are people who are filled with questions and who are obsessed with the future, and as we move forward into a new conference year, we secretly harbor thoughts that center on the mysterious and the unforeseen. So often we get so preoccupied with the unknown that we develop all sorts of gimmicks and superstitions to help us deal with the unkown. Horoscopes, fortune tellers, soothsayers, lucky charms and a number of other ploys come to our rescue, but have you ever considered that the answer to how we successfully cope with the future has already been given to us. The answer has been right in front of us for centuries, and not only have we failed to see it, we′ve also failed to use it as a map for the road ahead.

The secret is to be found in the first four words of the Holy Bible. Somehow, those ancient writers were able to sum up the answers to all of our fears and doubts about the future in the first four words: "In the beginning God ..."

When we take those words literally and place God in the beginning of everything we do, our lives will rise above the fears and superstitions that hold us captive. Too often in our churches God is not placed at the beginning of our worship and our Christian lives. It′s sad but it′s true. When we remove God from our plans and our hopes and look to ourselves to overcome our problems and difficulties, then we will find ourselves hopelessly lost. When we don′t acknowledge God as the most important thing in our lives, then our lives resemble a boat that has no rudders, oars, or sails, and we drift aimlessly upon the turbulent seas of life. If we are to find what God has in store for us, and if we are to live happily and successfully into the future, then I admonish you to put God at the beginning of everything you do.

I invite every lay person, pastor and congregation in the Okahoma Indian Missionary Conference to join me in making the coming months our "God First" year, a time when we will place God at the beginning of all our work and all our hopes. Let′s start this year with the covenant that before we engage ourselves in any undertaking, any enterprise, any thought, any prayer, or any action, we will go to God and allow God to make the first move. If we do that, I can promise you in all confidence that God will be there throughout the journey, and even to the end of it!

God bless you all.
Bishop Hayes