Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Children of God … ”

Galatians 4v4-6 “God sent his Son … so that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons … ” (NIV)

Not everyone is a “son of God”, but anyone can be – whether male or female, slave or free, or of any other human divide (Gal 3v28) . We struggle with the language “son of God” for two reasons: one it seems sexist, and second it can be confusing with The Son of God; so, for good reason, we tend to say “children of God”.

However, Paul had a specific reason for saying ‘sons’: firstly, we all have the privileges that sonship had in the 1^st century when inheritance and authority passed through the male line, and secondly, we all receive the ‘Spirit of The Son of God’. Hence v6 continues, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit that cries out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”v6-7

The thing about being an “heir” is that you receive by nature of who you are, not what you do. In the 1^st century, a slave could be in the household where they had to work hard – but even with all their work, there was no inheritance. You are a son, not a slave, and a son receives God’s inheritance.

The thing about receiving the “Spirit of his Son” is that this Spirit is conforming you to the likeness of Christ. God is changing you from the inside. His Spirit is at work.

Whoever you are, whatever the situation you face, and whatever your current feelings, as a follower of Christ, you have been born again as a child of God. That means that for now you have the Spirit of love, joy and peace, and for the future you have the out-of-this-world inheritance.

Let’s give thanks and praise to God for his goodness and complete provision in our adoption.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Compassion … ”

Luke 10v36-37 “ ’Who was a neighbour?’ … ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ ” (NIV)

Jesus loved telling stories – stories with a meaning. On one particular occasion he was discussing the command “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10v27), and the religious expert asked him “Who is my neighbour?” (v29) The expert was seeking to limit his responsibility, and to provide an explanation for why he might not care for some.

But Jesus turns the question around with the “Good Samaritan” story: firstly, he includes a foreigner as the hero of the story, and then, at the end, he asks, “Which of these do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The question has turned from “Who is my neighbour?” to “Am I being a neighbour – even to those who are against me?”.

The expert in the law identifies the foreigner as the real neighbour, and so Jesus tells him, “Go and do likewise”. Jesus says the same to us today – what does it mean for you to be a neighbour?

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Peace for our … ”

Philippians 4v7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

“Peace for our time,” are probably the most famous words of Neville Chamberlain. It is good to have a sense of optimism, but sadly, in this world, there is not always a positive outcome. One of the great hopes of the 20^th century was world peace and prosperity. There was the hope that education, democracy, technological advance and international organisation would bring peace – and it may be fair to say it has managed peace to a degree, but then the evil in human hearts still breaks out.

While it is good and right to pursue global peace, Jesus never promised this. Rather he said, “you will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed,” Matthew 24v6.

Jesus did however promise peace when he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14v27).  There have been and are many things that can upset our peace (e.g. Covid, cost of living, Russian invasion …), but Jesus offers you peace especially in these situations. Paul says it is not a natural peace, but a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4v7) because it is a peace from God. It is a “peace for our … ” minds and hearts.

We will explore more on Sunday about how we can fully receive this peace from God. In the meantime, may we both know God’s peace and exercise God’s peace.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Our struggle”

Ephesians 6v12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the … powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (NIV)

We don’t like what we see. Yet what our physical eyes don’t see is even more dramatic – as John pictures in Revelation.

Who is the very author of evil and pride, bloodshed and war? Is it not the Devil himself? John, in his vision, hears “a loud voice in heaven say, ‘ … woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.’” Rev12v12

Here is a vital point: the devil knows that the end is coming and that his time is limited and so he is determined to cause trouble. Also, God may not have eliminated evil yet, but he has limited it and made Jesus Lord over all.

At a Christ Central global prayer day yesterday, I was privileged to join in a Zoom with one of the church leaders in Ukraine (similar to the one in the evening which a number of you joined). I was moved by his emotions, not over his safety as he sought to care for others, but over the likely restrictions to the freedom to proclaim the gospel in the coming days. This held a higher priority for him than anything else. This priority has been obvious amongst his team over recent years as we have seen them surmount amazing obstacles and go the extra miles for the kingdom of God. We are in a spiritual battle and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ is central in that battle.

It is reported (Christianity Today, Feb 2022) that Ukraine has seen significant church growth since the introduction of freedoms in 1991 and is the main sender of missionaries in Eastern European. I quote, “As far as Europe is concerned, the Ukrainian church is perhaps the strongest and is doing the most for education, training, and sending out workers.” (though I have not found any corroboration of this).

Jesus said three times, “I am coming soon” Rev22v7, 12, and 20. The Devil knows there is limited time, and we know there is limited time. I am mindful of Josh Howard’s (speaker at Devoted) determination to reach the current generation as quickly as possible as we are passing away at a rate of 100 million a year.

Knowing we are in a spiritual battle drives us to our knees, to the place of prayer. You may like to listen to this 21^st century version of a 20^th century hymn “Facing a task unfinished …” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOpt_bulJxY .  Coming in prayer to God reminds us that while the devil is limited in both time and power, God is not limited. Our task is not yet finished, but, “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world”.

Let’s continue to pray with compassion for our brothers and sisters, for the land of Ukraine and even for Russia. Let’s pray for the kingdom of God to come.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“When Hopes are dashed”

Romans 4v18 “In hope, he believed against hope.” (NIV)

Sometimes we can “hope against hope” that it is not going to happen, but sadly it unfolds.

The term “hope against hope” is an expression meaning to hope in what seems impossible. It is taken from Abraham who “in hope he believed against hope that he would become the father of many nations as he had been told.” (Romans 4v18). The key to his hope in the impossible is the phrase, “as he had been told”. We can “hope against hope” with validity where God has explicitly said – but the journey to see it may be a roller coaster!

Today we have been greeted with news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How should we as God’s people respond? Maybe the following will help:

• Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he knew destruction was coming (Luke 19v41-44). It is right for us to weep over Ukraine and its people at this time. We feel compassion for the Ukrainian people.
• Paul taught us to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” 1 Timothy 2v1-2. We should pray for those with authority in the situation.
• The New Testament is full of the care between churches in different regions. This is actively encouraged by Paul and was part of his ministry as he transported money from one region to another. We should follow their example and support our brothers and sisters in Ukraine both in prayer and materially (eg 2 Corinthians 8v14). We think particularly of Igor and the churches in his grouping and the work of BreadTrust.
• In Daniel, there is much about God raising up and casting down world leaders both in his own time and in prophecy for times to come. God is Sovereign. We may well ask why God allows this to happen, but he has said he will allow evil to continue to operate until the end when Christ returns. Our hope is not in this world, but in Christ, his return and his eternal kingdom.
• We also know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8v28). We can trust God to bring good in some way through this – and because he has promised, we can pray that this is so.

May the compassion of Christ fill our hearts and the God of all hope give you assurance.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Living in Truth”

2 John 1v4 “It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth.” (NIV)

How often do you find that one person says one thing about what happened at an event and another says something very different. We may be more inclined to believe one than the other. Our society today tends to emphasise “truth as we see it” rather than “absolute truth”: there is an emphasis on what we see or experience rather than what really lies behind that experience.

Yet, in a court, the jury or magistrate has to decide what the true truth of the situation is: to do so, they consider the evidence that each side presents and come down on one side or the other.  And sometimes in a medical situation we may seek a second opinion with regards to an issue. Of course, we don’t really want an “opinion” at all, we want to get to the truth. In such situations, we may put ourselves as the judge of what seems the most reasonable opinion – the opinion which is likely to be closest to the truth. So the absolute truth is vitally important for both true justice and true healing.

Logically, God is the ultimate absolute truth. He does not change. He is constant. He lies behind everything else. Jesus testifies to this when he says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14v6). It logically follows, that if God is absolute truth, His Word must also be truth, and Jesus also testifies to this in his prayer in John 17v17 “Sanctify them by your truth; your word is truth.”

This connects back to the hospital and the courtroom. In John 17v17 (above) we are to be sanctified by God’s truth in his word. Sanctified means to be cleaned up or made whole in a spiritual sense – and God’s Word reveals both the diagnosis and the remedy, but even more than that, it is the remedy itself as we meditate on it and allow it to permeate our hearts. Regarding the courtroom, in Hebrews 4v12 we read, “The word of God is living and active … it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

There are two immediate actions to take from this:

1. With regards to ourselves, let’s read God’s word and apply it to our lives as the absolute truth which must be followed regardless of its conflict with the world’s “truth”. In so doing, we will be made whole.
2. With regards to others, we do not need to determine who is right and who is wrong (unless we have specific responsibility to do so). Ultimately, everyone will have to face the all-knowing God. Those that allow themselves to come under his judgement in this life, have the plea of Jesus Christ who has served the sentence for us. Sadly, those that delay the inevitable will no longer have that plea available.

Jesus says the same thing in a different way when he says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8v31-32. By freedom, Jesus means freedom from sin (see v33-36). May we each know the truth and be set free by it.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Living in Freedom”

1 Peter 2v16 “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover for evil; live as God’s slaves.” (NIV)

Last Saturday, some of us joined the Christ Central Shropshire evening of worship and seeking God, listening to him speaking through various prophetic contributions. It was encouraging. One of the key messages coming through was the message of freedom – the phenomenal freedom of God. The key question was, “What we are doing with our freedom?”.

God has set us free in Christ from both the power and the condemnation of sin. It is possible for us to use this freedom for our own pleasure, but Peter is calling us to exercise this freedom by serving the living God. What does it mean for you to be free to serve the Living God?

Paradoxically, our freedom is based on the restriction of a firm rooting in God. That firmness of grounding enables us to branch out and to reach beyond; it provides a consistent source of all that we need, enabling us to flourish and produce much fruit for God’s kingdom.

It’s not a freedom to be my old self, but to be God’s child; not to serve myself, but to serve my God, Creator and Saviour as I serve others.

May God bring much beautiful fruit in your life.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“The important thing”

Philippians 1v18 “What does it matter? The important thing is that … ” (NIV)

How would you fill in those dots (the technical term for the dots is “ellipsis”)?

I have often heard, “The important thing is that …” when an accident has happened, but the people involved are safe and sound. Or maybe it is when we have not done as well as hoped, but we got enough to get by. It conveys our sense of frustration or disappointment in something going wrong, but a recognition that the more important thing is OK.

So, what was the important thing for Paul? Paul finishes his sentence, “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” Though Paul might suffer the unkindness of others, the hostility of the system, the restrictions of imprisonment, and the wrong motives of some who preached the gospel, what mattered to him was that the good news of Jesus was announced to the world in whatever way possible.

There are many ways to share the gospel, and God has made us each uniquely in terms of our gifts, abilities, resources and circumstances. I may not always agree with the ways others are going about it, but we do each carry a responsibility to take the message. The question is not “Do I agree with the way Joe is sharing the gospel?”, but “Am I agreeing in action with Jesus’ command on my life?”

Let’s both rejoice in the ways Christ is being proclaimed by others (even when not to our taste), and   action “the important thing” for ourselves.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“What has happened to me”

Philippians 1v12 “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel” (NIV)

Many things “happen to us” where:

• We have little or no control over their happening.
• We had little or no sense of them being in the future for us.
• We have not “deserved” them in any way.

For Paul writing from prison, this included the malicious “happenings” of false accusation; the negligent “happenings” of delays to trials; the natural “happenings” of storm and shipwreck; and the system “happenings” of being in chains under guard.

Did Paul turn to self-pity? to criticism of God? Maybe he did at some points depending how we understand “learned to be content” in Philippians 4v11, but he has come to see that there is a greater “happening” going on. It is the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The reality for Paul was this – in every situation he broadcast God’s message of salvation. The things that “happened” to him served to broaden that opportunity. The facts did not change, but his perception did.

The challenge for us is, “Do I see what God can do through me in my current situation?”.

The comfort for us is, “God works in all things for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8v28)

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Being Pure and Blameless for the Day of Christ”

Philippians 1v9-10 “That your love may abound … so that you may be … pure and blameless for the day of Christ …’” (NIV)

It is not generally difficult to spot another person’s faults!

• The world loves to talk about the faults of others.
• “Religion” of all forms has tended to establish “fault-lines” by which people are “in” or “out”.

The good news is that Jesus died to remove our sin and change us to be pure and blameless. Tony used the verse on Sunday “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”: there is both a one off change in our hearts, and an ongoing process of transformation and renewal. As we spend time with Jesus in the Word and in Worship, he changes us in preparation for that final day.

The word “pure” refers to an inner purity of heart: a heart that is filled with good good desires and good loves. We know that people “look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16v7). In the above verse from Philippians, the changing of the heart is rooted in a love that abounds more and more: this is a genuine and complete love for God, love for his children and love for the lost. And genuine love leads to genuine purity. “We love because he first loved us”, but also “Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4v19&21)

Being “pure” of heart, also leads to being “blameless” in action. Of course, people may still find blame in you compared to their relative “fault-lines”. But God’s fault-lines are based on his love which is absolute, continual and total. The remarkable thing is that you who are in Christ will be found blameless on that last day! – Because of Jesus!

With love and blessing,

Roland