Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Revelation – The Spirit says “Grace & Peace to you”

Revelation 1v4  “… Grace and peace to you from the seven spirits before his throne ..”

Are you in need of grace and peace. Grace is to be given something good which you do not deserve (the opposite of Santa and his naughty list). Peace is about a wholeness, satisfaction and completeness.

Last week we saw that Yahweh, our Father, greets us; but now the “seven spirits” greet us with grace and peace. In Revelation and the Bible as a whole, the number 7 is a symbol for completeness, wholeness, or perfection. If we consider that the word “holy” can also effectively mean pure of complete, then we can clearly see that this refers to the Holy Spirit. This is even clearer when John follows with a greeting from Jesus – making this a Trinitarian greeting.

The Holy Spirit is with you right now – indeed as a child of God he is within you. And, from within you, he speaks words of grace and peace. Listen to his calm voice now. Listen to his words. He wants you to know – as in really know and experience – the favour of God and the peace and calm that he brings.

Later in Revelation, it will be very clear that the situations around us will very rarely be filled with grace and peace. But we have this treasure within as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4v6-7 “For God … made his light shine in our hearts … we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” In other words this is not just a nice greeting, but a greeting that is backed up by reality.

May you hear the Spirit whispering words of grace and peace to you at this time.

With love and blessing,

Roland

News

Covid-19 vaccines for developing countries
• Some of you have expressed interest in how you can support the provision of vaccines for developing countries. Unicef are seeking donations to support their programme of vaccine distribution. Here is a link: https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR26uV9BBvyfFKJIkY88fumbBYjAtbFz67zgD-ixpDvSnSCEJn83DsOr5zs

Prayer

Give thanks:

  • For the roll out of the vaccine.

Prayer:

  • For all those who are struggling with health at the moment.
  • For those who are on their own.