Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Discerning what is Best”

Philippians 1v9-10 “That your love may abound … so that you may be able to discern what is best …’” (NIV)

There are lots of good things in this world:

There are fewer things which are best.

There are lots of good things we can do:

There are fewer things which are best.

There are lots of good thoughts we can have:

There are fewer thoughts which are best.

God’s calling on our lives is not just for good, but for best. It is not just a “not being bad”, but a becoming fully like Christ. A few years ago, it was popular to have wrist bands with “What Would Jesus Do?” printed on them – that is a question leading us to the best in any situation.

How can we discern what is best? Paul states in the verse above that such discernment flows from a heart of love. As our love towards God grows, our love for what he loves grows; this love becomes the “magnetic north” for our “decision-compass”, and so we are able to make decisions for the best. Our love in line with his love, our heart in line with his heart, our choices in line with his choices: this is THE best.

May the Lord pour out his love into your heart so that you may choose what is best today,

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Finding Contentment”

Philippians 4v11 “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances …’” (NIV)

Are you content? What do you get most discontent about?

I saw an article about contentment on my Facebook feed yesterday. It was highlighting how our modern world relies on discontent:

• Businesses want you to be discontent so that you buy their product or service on the basis it will make you content.
• There is a basic understanding that the country’s economy must grow, but to do that we need to all pursue more.
• It is our discontent that leads us to over-consume and so cause environmental issues.

Anyone who is content must be saved a lot of time and trouble! God in His wisdom included a command in the 10 Commandments to be content: it is in the form “Do not covet …”

So when Paul says, “I have learned to be content” – how did he “learn” this? If it can be learned, maybe there is hope for all of us! We will be looking at this more on Sunday morning, but in the meantime, have a look in Philippians to see what you can find that might help.

May the Lord enable you to know contentment whatever your circumstances are,

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Resolutions for 2022”

Philippians 3v13 “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead …’” (NIV)

As we approach a New Year, you may be making “resolutions” for 2022. I guess our resolutions reflect both what we consider important to us, and also what we struggle with.

The apostle Paul made a resolution when he decided to follow Jesus. However, it is clear from the above verse, that even as a well-established apostle, not everything behind him was perfect, and there was the need for great effort to continue to move forward in God’s call on his life.

What is God calling you to leave behind in 2022? What is he calling you to strain towards?

On Sunday we will look at this theme based on Philippians 3 some more. Then over the next few Sundays we will have a blend of myself looking at the book of Philippians which has much to encourage us in spiritual growth in 2022, and Tony looking at true worship.

May 2022 be a year of God bringing fruit in your life as you dedicate yourself to him.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Jesus comes as a King”

Matthew 2v1-2 “Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” (NIV)

In our world, knowing who has authority and power is important. We want to know who is the boss at work, we know the ones who have greater authority in social groups, and we discuss the authority that someone carries in politics.

Over time, authority and power passes from one person to another and from one group to another – sometimes forcefully by ‘revolution’, sometimes gradually by ‘evolution’.

Those losing power are virtually always concerned and fearful – and so “When [the existing King] Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him …” (v3). The current order was being challenged, the status quo was under threat.

For anyone who wants to run life their own way, Jesus is a threat. Jesus effectively says in his call to discipleship, “My way or the highway”. Jesus is not a king with accountability to the people that he should ‘kowtow’ to us. He is a king who is only accountable to the Father and he exercises the Father’s will irrespective of what our opinions might be.

Is the way of Jesus a threat to your way of life? Have you cornered off certain areas off from him as you are not sure what he would think or do? Jesus’ requirement is that we confess our sin and our need of him; and as we come to him in humility, he is ready to fully forgive and give us the power us to live in his way. The devil persuades us our way is best, but the reality is that Jesus’ way is the way of life in all its fullness – life as God intended you to be.

May your life and mine be fully illuminated by the light of the reign of Christ this Christmas.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Jesus comes as a Priest”

Hebrews 5v10 “[Jesus] was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (NIV)

It is often said that Jesus came as all three of the key Old Testament roles of Prophet, Priest and King. Last week we looked at what it meant for him to come as prophet, this week we consider his role as priest.

In the Old Testament a Priest typically did two things:

• Entered the presence of God to intercede with God for the people
• Offered sacrifices for the forgiveness of the people’s sins so they could be considered acceptable to God.

When the angel appeared to Joseph before Jesus was born, he confirmed this role when he said, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1v21). Then, when the “magi” attended, they gave gifts of frankincense and myrrh: these were prophetic of his priestly role as the myrrh symbolising his sacrificial death and the frankincense his access to God.

In Jesus’ life, we see him fulfilling the role as he prays for both his disciples and us in Gethsemene (John 17). And right now, he is interceding for you as he prays on your behalf (Hebrews 7v25). It’s time to appreciate what Jesus has done and is doing for you.

If I was Jesus, would I choose to be obedient to the Father and come to earth, knowing that it would involved being crucified? The role of priest is a tough one, but Jesus follows through to the cross as the greatest sacrifice in the world.

Where does that leave us? Well, as Jesus is high priest, so we are declared to be priests: we now have free access to God. But the role of priest is not just privilege: it also carries a responsibility, a responsibility to represent the world before God and to represent God to the world.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Jesus comes as a Prophet”

John 12v49 “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” (NLT)

In the Old Testament a Prophet typically did two things:

• God spoke through them (all prophets)
• God worked miracles through them (most significantly Moses, Elijah, Elisha, but also others)

Jesus clearly fulfils both of these criteria. But, for now, let’s focus on the God-speaking element.

Looking forward to Jesus, Moses wrote, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). And in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews wrote, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,”  (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Jesus is greater than all the Old Testament prophets – he is God’s Son. He communicates what is on God’s heart. We must listen to him.

In our world, there are many voices competing for our attention. The voices we listen to will impact our thoughts, decisions and emotions. We have to choose to listen to Jesus. It is a conscious decision to stop doing something else and listen to him. Are you taking time to listen to Jesus this Advent?

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

“Death has been swallowed up in victory”

1 Corinthians 15v54 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

I hope you have been able to live this week in the light of what we looked at last Sunday: You will rise from the dead with a resurrection body which will never deteriorate. When this is accomplished, then Christ’s mission will be complete because he will have fully conquered the “final enemy” which is death (15v26).

The obvious result of this fact is that we no longer have reason to fear death. Paul uses the word “asleep” to emphasise that Jesus has made death temporary. Rather, it is the gateway to eternity, and for those who are in Christ, this is a significant upgrade on our current life.

May you know the answer to the prayer in the well known Welsh hymn, “Guide me O thou great Jehovah … bid my anxious fears subside”.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Powers and authorities disarmed!

Colossians 2v15 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

What does Satan do? His name, Satan, means “Accuser”. It is a legal term for the person making charges in a court. Accusing is one of his chief activities. Satan wants to (and does) accuse you of stuff: he wants to bring anything you have done wrong or may have done wrong up in front of you. He wants to bring it up in front of God too, because he knows that sin separates us from God.

But, Jesus has made this tactic of Satan null and void. How? By taking our sin on his shoulders and being nailed to the cross. Your sin is now fully paid for. He cannot now accuse you because the punishment has already been paid. In the words of Colossians 2v13, “He forgave us all our sins.”

There is now no logical reason for allowing past sins to haunt you. We have to apply the logic of the cross to our thinking: we have been set free. “There is now no condemnation” “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

May God enable you to live in the true freedom that he has birthed you into.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Remembering!

Psalm 77v11 “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”

Today and this coming Sunday, we take time to remember: to remember those who have valiantly given their lives in conflict. Such people died doing what they were told to do for the sake of their country.

In our busy lives, how much time do we spend “remembering”. Thinking back and recalling the past. History is a valuable subject – over the last few millennia, human desires, dreams and motivations have not changed much, so we can learn a lot.

In the Psalm, the writer is in a difficult situation. He tells himself to remember what God had done in the past – not necessarily in his own life, but what others had recorded (eg v19-20). It is valuable for us too to read or listen to the accounts in the Bible of God’s dealings with people, and to read biographies of Christians who recount both their difficulties and their encounters with God. It encourages us as we remind ourselves how God works in people’s lives.

As we take time to remember the fallen and the injured in war, let us also remember the mighty hand of God. As we do so, may our faith in God increase for our own day.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Avoid foolish controversies!

Titus 3v9 “Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless”

This Sunday, we are going to begin a short series on the “Last Days and the Second Coming of Christ”.

It is vital that we base what we believe on God’s Word in the Bible. However, it is even more important that we base what we do and how we live on God’s Word in the Bible (see Matthew 7v24-27 or James 1v22-25).

As we look at this of the 2^nd coming, it is possible to get caught up in all sorts of different opinions. For example, I have a book entitled “Four views: the Meaning of the Millennium” – and the truth is that within each of those 4 basic views, there are many “sub-views”.

In my twenties I was part of a church where the pastor would often say, “Major on the majors and minor on the minors”. As we come to look at this future theme together, it is vital that (i) we come with grace, (ii) we “major on the majors”, and (iii) we focus on how God is calling us to live. With that in mind, we will be looking at a different passage of Scripture each week.

With love and blessing,

Roland