Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Samuel – When Disaster strikes!

1Samuel 4v3 “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today?”

Do you ever feel like everything around you is falling apart?

Samuel was probably in his twenties when it seemed like his whole world was collapsing. His nation, Israel, lost a major battle against the Philistines. So for the next battle, they decided to take the ark of the covenant with them, thinking it would bring them good luck. The ark represented God’s presence and was usually kept at the center of worship.

But things got even worse. The Philistines captured the ark and killed Eli the priest’s two sons. When Eli heard the news, he fell over and died too. The people cried out, “The glory has departed from Israel.”

Then something unexpected happened — the presence of the ark brought trouble to the Philistines, and they eventually sent it back to Israel. Through all of this, the people began to respect God again and said, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?”

The Israelites had forgotten about God’s holiness. Their faith had become just a ritual. So God allowed disaster to get their attention and refocus their hearts on Him. A new generation grew up with a renewed awe and respect for God’s presence.

We need that same reverence today. God isn’t someone we should turn to only in times of crisis — He deserves our worship every day.Lord, give us a deeper reverence for You and Your holiness today. Help us to honour You not just in crisis, but in every moment of life.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Samuel – God’s Call!

1Samuel 3v4 “Then the Lord called Samuel.”

When did you last hear the Lord speaking to you?

This is the lovely story of young Samuel asleep at night. He is woken 3 times by the Lord calling his name, but he thinks it is Eli calling him. The fourth time, he answers the call, “Speak for your servant is listening.” (v10).

Our spiritual ears can learn to recognise God speaking to us. At first, Samuel did not realise it was God and needed the encouragement of Eli that it was God speaking. But once, Samuel knew, then we read, “The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.” (v21)

Sometimes God speaks to us for our personal benefit. Sometimes God speaks for us to pass on to others. Samuel was being developed by God as a prophet – one who listened to what God said and then passed it on to others. What is God revealing to you? Is he expecting you to pass the word on to someone else? Sometimes it is only once we speak that we can realise the significance.

The first prophetic words Samuel received from God were not a pleasant message and so he needed Eli’s encouragement to share it. Let’s listen to the Lord and let’s encourage one another in sharing the word of the Lord.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Samuel – Standing out!

1Samuel 2v12,26 “Eli’s sons … had no regard for the LORD … Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the LORD and with men.”

Samuel’s life reminds us of the power of choosing God’s way, even when others don’t. While Eli’s sons lived for themselves—chasing greed and ignoring God—Samuel set his heart on obedience. He didn’t follow the crowd. Instead, he chose to listen to God and serve Him with a willing heart.

That choice was not always easy. Obedience often meant laying aside his own interests. Yet God honoured Samuel for it. Scripture says he “continued to grow in favour with the LORD and with men.” His faithfulness became the foundation of his calling—he would one day anoint David as king, setting in motion the line that would lead to Jesus.

In the same way, our daily choices to obey God matter more than we may ever realise. Sometimes obedience feels costly or inconvenient, but it is never wasted. God sees, God honours, and God works through it.

May we, like Samuel, be willing to stand firm in God’s ways—even when it goes against the flow. Who knows what blessings and purposes God may bring through your obedience today?

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

How to Grow Spiritually – (1) Go to God in Prayer

Matthew 6v6 “When you pray … pray to your Father.”

Happy New Year!! On Sunday mornings a year ago, we looked at the importance of growing spiritually. Being born again is like crossing a border or going through a gate: having crossed the border, it is only sensible to move into all there is in the Kingdom of God. When we journey physically we need all of (say) a car, fuel and directions to enable us to continue moving, so in our spiritual journey we need to use all of the resources we have been given. The first resource is Prayer.

God made you to have conversation with you. Why? Because conversation is key to a relationship. Jesus came to restore conversation between God and you. He has restored the relationship to one of Father and child. Your Heavenly Father wants to share his love and purpose with you. He wants you to know his care for you day by day. And he also wants you to share the details of your life with Him. God calls us into an intimate relationship with Him. It takes time.

Traditionally the visit of the “Magi” is celebrated this coming Saturday. How much time and energy did they invest in travelling to bring some gifts to Jesus? It may have been a couple of years from when they first saw the star to when they arrived in Bethlehem. They left their families, their homes, their normal business and activities and trekked across the Middle East to see Jesus. For all that time and investment, they didn’t see Jesus do anything for them – they just were present with Him and worshipped Him. What am I prepared to put into the pursuit of Jesus this year? What other things come in front of my time with God?

Two years ago we used “The Prayer Course” to give us tools to use in our prayer life. These are available on this link if you would like to use them. https://prayercourse.org/sessions/

May God lead you in spiritual growth and maturity this year,

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Joy to the World

Luke 2v10 “I bring you good news of great JOY that will be for all the people.”

What is the difference between happiness and joy? Some have suggested that happiness is about sensory pleasure while joy is derived from soul satisfying, emotional well-being. While happiness comes from outside things, joy is about the inner self.

In which case, it  would seem that Jesus didn’t come to make us happy because he promised, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16v33). But he did come to give that deep inner joy that bubbles up from within even in difficult circumstances. How is this possible?

Our joy is grounded in Jesus who is our Saviour and Lord. He is the one who has loved us and continues to love us. He is the one who brings us to our Father God and through whom we are now children of God. And we know that in Him is ultimate victory. Indeed, Jesus continues, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” (John 16v33). As we allow our souls to connect with God and these truths, He satisfies our soul, and our inner being is filled with joy.

I wish you a Happy Christmas, but even more, I wish you a JOYFUL Christmas.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Mary’s shock

Luke 1v29 “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”

Mary seems a remarkable young lady.

• First she has the shock of an angel appearing to her. The words of the angel are positive, “Greetings you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” But these positive words do not stop her being surprised and even troubled. It is outside the realm of her experience and she really does not know what the outcome is to be.
• Her second shock is to be told, “You will be with child … and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Afterall, she is only engaged, not married and she has had no sexual activity. There was of course a clue as to how in the description given of her child, “He will be called the Son of the Most High.” Today we look back and can see that this was prophesied in Isaiah 7v11 “The virgin will be with child, she will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means “God is with us”)”, but I doubt this was in the front of Mary’s mind. You can imagine her perplexity as she asks the question, “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
• It may not be so much of a shock, but the angel’s answer must have raised some questions in her mind too, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” I think I would still be in question mode. The angel continues to graciously tell her that her elderly relative Elizabeth is pregnant. Maybe this is meant as a sign for Mary that she is able to test by going to visit Elizabeth.

In all this, the angel’s conclusion, “For nothing is impossible with God”, is met by Mary with “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said.”

Let us give thanks to the Lord for Mary’s submissive heart. It also raises the question, “What is the Lord saying to me?” It is good to share our questions and concerns with the Lord, but it is also vital that we submit to his answers.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Jesus Promised

Matthew 1v22 “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet.”

Do you get those moments of questioning “What if I have got this wrong?”. I love to ponder over the prophecies in the Old Testament and be amazed. What other explanation could there be of such accurate long-range foretelling except that the Bible is truly God speaking to us? That applies to both the prophetic words and prophetic actions of the Old Testament.

Just consider amongst many others:

• Abraham was told by God around 2000BC “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12v3): look at the global spread of God’s blessing now.
• Abraham was prepared to offer up his-only-promised-son, Isaac, as a sacrifice and spoke the words, “God himself will provide the lamb” (Gen 22v8): look at Jesus, the provision of “The Lamb of God”.
• David wrote Psalm 22 around 1000BC and included many pertinent lines such as, “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing”: look at the direct correspondence with Christ’s crucifixion.
• Micah wrote about 700BC “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah … out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5v2): look at the birth of Jesus, the eternal Son, in Bethlehem.
• Isaiah also wrote about 700BC, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7v14): look at Jesus who was born to the virgin Mary.

God’s Word is faithful and true. His promises are always sure.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Jesus Is Coming

Revelation 22v20 “Yes, I am coming soon.”

It is difficult to deny the historic Jesus of the 1st century. And the gospels which record what he did also point to the future. Jesus is going to come back. There’s a lot of uncertainty in our world today. But as a follower of Jesus, this I know, Jesus is Coming Back and he will set things straight!! We therefore do not need to fear.

As Advent begins, let’s look forward to the second coming. There is a lot of speculation about specific elements, but the following are the key things Jesus tells us to keep in mind:

•      He is definitely coming (Rev 22v20) – so be ready
•      We do not know the time, it will be a surprise (Matt 24v36-51) – so be ready
•      It will a definitive moment after which it will be too late to switch to Jesus (Matt 25v1-15) – so be ready
•      He will reward people for how they have used what he has given (Matt 25v14-30) – so be ready
•      He will bringing in a new era, where those who belong to Jesus will rise to be with him and those who are not will be cast out (Matt 25v31-46) – so be ready

The first big question of Advent is not “Am I ready for Christmas?”, but “Am I ready for Christ to come?”  In the parables referred to above, “being ready” means: watch in expectation, pray, be careful to follow Christ, keep being filled with the Holy Spirit, use all God has given you for Him, and serve others.

In God’s grace, may each of us be ready for his coming.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Living in God’s Blessing

Genesis 39v20 “While Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him: he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden.”

Joseph, the favoured son of Jacob (also called Israel) was envied and hated by his brothers, he was sold as a slave, and then in slavery, he was falsely accused and put in prison. Looking at the external circumstances, you’ve got to think God was not showing Joseph much kindness!

However, as always, God was working with the long-term in view. Even in all the frustrations of injustice and false accusation, of being put down and even imprisoned, God was with him. It is not our circumstances that define God’s favour, but knowing his presence. God’s favour was not to be seen in worldly success, but in the facts that Joseph could do a work reliably, he could resist temptation, and he could see God’s hand in what was going on.

We can look back today at the story of Joseph and say, “Ah, but it was all part of the journey of God’s plan and purpose”. But Joseph did not know the end game, he could only go on the relationship he had with God and the prophetic dreams he had as a teenager.

So for us today, our circumstances may not be great – whether in terms of health, finances, relationships or other issues – but that does not mean God has withdrawn his blessing. God is working long-term.

Also, it would seem that Joseph was one to look out for those little blessings – the favour of the prison warden – as signs of God’s kindness. You belong to God and are a worker for him in this world, what little blessings can you turn back in praise to God with a thankful heart. And the blessings that we have in Christ Jesus are not very little at all! (Ephesians 1v3-10)

Spend time today thinking on those “little” blessings.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Living as a Friend of God

James 2v23 “Abraham … was called God’s friend.”

We can easily imagine God as distant and high above us. Well, he is above us, but the Scriptures also tell us that he has people as friends. James writes that Abraham “was called God’s friend”. James is referring to 2 Chronicles 20v7 where Jehoshaphat (one of the later Kings of Judah) prays to God and refers to Abraham with the words, “Abraham your friend.”

Why was Abraham called “God’s friend”? Was it because he was perfect? Certainly not! He made his fair share of mistakes whether telling half-truths about his wife or sleeping with Hagar. Rather, I think it must be firstly because God had chosen him and secondly because the overall direction of Abraham’s life was one of faith and obedience despite the shortcomings.

Friends share time, thoughts and experiences together. Each is evident in God’s friendship with Abraham. God often appeared to Abraham, he visited for food, and told Abraham what he was thinking and planning whether for blessing or judgment. From the other side, Abraham was available to God and shared frankly how he was feeling and his worries and concerns. God was not someone for him to be afraid of, but to share with.

So that brings me to the question, “Am I a friend of God?”. Well if I am a believer, I am chosen just like Abraham was (see for example Ephesians 1v4). If I am allowing time to spend with God and am seeking to obedient to his direction, then it seems reasonable to conclude that God considers me His friend.

Spend time today meditating on the thought that God considers you His friend.

With love and blessing,

Roland