“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13 (NIV)

The word hope today is used in so many different ways such as  ‘I hope this exam is not too hard’, ‘I hope that my football team wins on Saturday’, ‘I hope I don’t embarrass myself tonight at the dinner part’, ‘I hope my Mum doesn’t find out it was me that spilled the tomato sauce on the carpet.’  Yes, most of us use the essence of the word hope in these sentences at least once a day and never think anything about it, but that is not the hope that God speaks about.

To people who have no place to sleep each night or are hungry and cold, those in countries torn apart by war, the many lonely people marginalized because of illness or situations not of their making, to so many, this world must appear to be a world without hope.

What do we, as Christians, have to offer them in the way of hope?  We need to read again and again the verses of scripture that we have been given, in order to keep seeking this Awesome God who gives us the inner strength and the words and deeds to offer to those who are without hope.  If we truly believe that God is in every situation and works alongside us, then we focus our hope on God and we can help those who are in need of a glimmer of light.

Verses like these:  1 Peter 1:3  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you“.

2 Thessalonians 2:16  “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word“.

Giver of life, focus our eyes on the promises which you give us so that we may bring hope to those who despair. Amen.

by Terry Stead
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

Our Hope in Him

The Cradle of Hope

Hope is In Himv

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The post Hope for a Hopeless World can be found at Thoughts about God.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, at this time of year we so often get caught up in the mad frenzy of buying presents, writing cards and catching up with friends and family that we forget the true meaning of this Advent Season.  Help us to stop and reflect on the gift of your birth to all of us.  Teach us how to slow down and see the wonder and the glory of this time.  Amen

Bible Readings:

Week 1 –     Matthew 4:18-22
Week 2 –    Revelations 21:1-7
Week 3 –    Luke 1:5-25
Week 4 –   Isaiah 49:13-26

Prayer Points:

–  Reflect and rejoice in the miracle of Christ’s birth
–  For those whom Christmas is a sad reminder of days past
–  Volunteers who help share their Christmas meal with others
–  For all who are lonely
–  Your own personal prayer points

Closing Prayer:

Dear One, during this Christmas month when my life seems to be permanently set on the spin cycle, please show me the miracles that surround me every day, so that I may become filled with joy and reflect on how enormous was the gift of your life on that first Christmas morning. Amen.

by Terry Stead
used by permission

FURTHER READING

• Come Worship the King – One way to celebrate Christ’s birth as a family
• A Mysterious Christmas Gift – a Man’s Reflection
• Christmas Prayers

The post Miracle of Christmas can be found at Thoughts about God.

The word ‘tiredness’, even when spoken out loud the word sounds and makes us feel tired.  In contrast, have you ever stopped to think how, when certain words are spoken out loud, they make the difference in how we feel.  Like “joyous”, “excited” or even “roses” can bring a smile to our face while others such as “devastated”, “heartache” or “grief” will change our outlook?  I would like to just talk about “tiredness”.  It doesn’t seem to matter if we are young, middle aged or elderly, there are times when we all get tired and function slower than we normally would.

For some, the tiredness comes from looking after a family and running them to school, sports, friends’ homes etc., and that doesn’t include all the looking after a growing family needs – the cooking, cleaning, and simply bringing them up in a world that is changing and demanding.  For others it is the long hours spent at work and the stress of driving in traffic and then there is the tiredness that comes from the task of living each day with aged or diseased bodies.  No matter what the cause, tiredness saps our strength and so we do not live up to the potential which God has given to us all.

As always though, we have been given the assurance that we can be renewed and reinvigorated and so overcome our worldly tiredness.  Take heart in these beautiful words that you probably would have realized by now, I quote often.

“Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31

Prayer:
Loving God, sometimes I become so tired that I can’t see the path you have chosen for me and so become disheartened.  Give me the strength to soar once again and become all you would have me be. Amen.

By Terry Stead
Used by Permission

RELATED READING

• Let Us Not Grow Tired
• Tender Words to the Tired Heart
• Is Your Bucket Empty?

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The post Tiredness can be found at Thoughts about God.

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:13 (NIV)

How alive and uplifted we feel when we take time to see a rainbow or suddenly catch a glimpse of shimmering water, or hear the wind whistling through pine trees.

What happens, though, when circumstances beyond our control stop us from hearing and seeing the beauty around us?  Sometimes we fail to see the everyday miracles around us, do not see the blessings that are heaped on us each day and the colors of God’s creation are not as bright.

The word Covenant in our world today conjures up words like pledge, promise, contract – all of which are binding and true.  We need to see God’s Covenants as promises made to each one of us and which He will keep no matter what we do.

Whatever situations we are in, we need to be joyfully open to His rainbows so we may see the fulfilling of His Covenant in every part of creation.

Gracious Creator, as we look around and see the incredible things surrounding us, show us that we always have time to enjoy and bask in this beauty.  You have promised us so much and all we have to do is believe and have faith.  Touch our eyes and open our hearts so that we can joyfully give thanks and praise to You.  Our hearts are full, Lord, and we cannot always find the words to express the thoughts that come bubbling up when we think of Your promises.  Enable us to see the wonder in all Your creation and so find strength and courage as we contemplate and rest on Your Covenant.

We give you praise and thanks for all that you have given us. Amen

by Terry Stead
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Rainbows
• A New Deal
• Pillars of an Unshakable Life

The post God’s Covenant can be found at Thoughts about God.

Isn’t our memory an amazing thing?  I am at an age now where I am finding it very hard to remember people’s names, or words to poems, in fact I forget most things.  But one of the things I do remember is a line of a poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney “You’re closer to God’s heart in the garden than any place else on earth.”  It is a poem that my mother used to recite to me over and over as she showed me the beauty and intricacies of a beautiful rose or delphinium or other flower, which she loved.

Although we don’t have to be in a garden to feel close to God, it is a marvelous place to praise our Creator.  We can marvel at the beautiful colours of the flowers, of the leaves of each plant, and yes, even the weeds that grow so abundantly.  We can thank God that we are surrounded by so many beautiful things upon which to gaze and also thank him for the perfumes that waft to us through the air.  All these things should make our hearts sing in praise.

Sometimes, though, I think that we are all so busy focusing our eyes on where we are going or what we are doing that we sometimes miss all this beauty.  Take some time out over the next few weeks to really see what is around you and give thanks and praise to our wonderful Creator.  You may wish to use a simple one sentence prayer like this.

Prayer:

We marvel at your creation, Lord, and ask that you accept our praise and our thanks.

John 1:3
“Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him.”

by Terry Stead
used by permission

FURTHER READING

• Beauty
• God in Nature
• Bitterness in the Garden of Our Hearts

The post Gardens can be found at Thoughts about God.

We are all familiar with the Bags of Gold Parable in Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus tells us of the master going on a journey but gave each of his three servants a different number of bags of gold.   On their return he said to two of them who returned an increased value of gold, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”  How wonderful it would be if at the end of our lives we could have that said about us.  Being faithful is not always easy, sometimes it is not convenient, at other times we face criticism and ridicule, threats and attacks, but God has promised never to leave us alone, that just as strength will be given to us in any situation, so shall we also gain by sharing in God’s happiness.

“…Truly if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

One website defines faith in a way that I love.  “Faith is always received from God, and never generated by us.”  That definition has actually changed the way I use the word faith as well as adding and giving me a whole new meaning to the word.  I now rethink my words when I start to tell someone that I have faith that my football team will win this weekend.  I stop and ask myself if what I am putting my faith in is actually given by God?

Now I know that not everyone will agree with me.  In today’s world a great deal of store is put into having faith in yourself and having faith that you can do your job correctly etc., but to me that still comes from God.  God gives you the faith to believe in yourself and, in fact, asks you “to love your neighbor as you love yourself”.  Note – “love yourself”.

Let me finish with a quote from the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore.

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings to greet the dawn while it is still dark.”  That faith is God given.

Lord, I ask for your gift of faith, and the will to remain firm in the face of opposition.  Allow me to see that the real problem is not what happens to me, but rather how I react to an occurrence that makes the difference.  I need your help so that these situations will not disturb my inner peace and joy in you so that at the end of each day you will say of me “well done, you good and faithful servant”.   Amen.

By Terry Stead
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• The Wise Foolishness of Faith
• Sure Road to Faith
• Incredible Gift

The post Faith can be found at Thoughts about God.

We read the word “forgiven” and yet because we often cannot see through the darkness of our own past we really fail to grasp the full implications of what the word imparts.  We sometimes find it easier to forgive others than to forgive ourselves.  Many feelings of guilt through our actions in the past blind our eyes to see the truth – that we are indeed forgiven, and loved, and cherished by a God who gave up his only son so that we would not perish.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel that if other people could look inside and see the real me, I would be found wanting.  We dwell on our mistakes, on the way we behave, or on anything that we see as flaws in our own being.  How often do we only see the ugly and not the beauty that God sees in us?  He delights in us and calls us his sons and daughters.  We need to see this beauty inside each one of us before we can truly see the beauty in others.  It is only as we come to know the true meaning of forgiveness can we show God’s unconditional love to the world.  We hear this text from Matthew during our communion services but how often do we reflect on what it actually means?

Matthew 26:27-29
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying

“Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Personal Prayer:
Beloved Christ, I come before you now carrying so many burdens of guilt and shame, things that I dwell on that stops me from becoming the person that you wish me to be.  Open my eyes to see that I am forgiven and loved.  “Just as I am, I come.”  Amen

by Terry Stead
Used by Permssion

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The post Forgiveness and the Risen Christ can be found at Thoughts about God.

One of the things I have always loved to do is kick off my shoes and sit in the grass – to actually lie on the grass is even better.  You can feel the coolness of the green blades and also feel the earth beneath you.  To me it seems as if I am actually attached to God.  Now I know that God is always part of me and I give thanks for that every day, but when I am there on the grass I feel that I am physically connected to the Living One.

I sit or lie there and my mind goes back to the wonderful story of creation in the first book of Genesis and what an incredibly exciting, wondrous story it is.  Everyone has read and also listened to many sermons where this story has been shared.  We believe God created our universe and yet I think we need to sometimes become immersed once again in just how exciting and wondrous the world around us is.

So… back to lying on the grass, relaxed, and if I keep still and listen I can hear birds singing out to each other and maybe male crickets rubbing their wings together cheerfully.  The warm breeze catches the leaves of the plants around me and out of the corner of my eye I see a flower blazing yellow against the bright green of its leaves and perhaps a red and black lady bug is walking very busily among the petals.  To me, all these things are every day miracles and I can revel in creation and know that we are made in God’s image and likeness.

If you have time this month read again the 1st Chapter of the book of Genesis and relate it to all that is around you.

Prayer:
Creator God, how wondrous is your creation.  We marvel at how everything has its place and season.  Help each of us to become more aware of what is happening around us so that we can appreciate the everyday miracles which are before us.  Amen

by Terry Stead
used by permission

FURTHER READING

God in Nature by Darren Hewer

A Prayer of Praise for God’s Creation

God is My Delight – by Katherine Kehler

The post Revel in Creation can be found at Thoughts about God.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” John 15:12

I have always loved walking along the beach, or through a paddock, or searching through disused quarries. Why?  Well, I love stones and pebbles.  Each one is different whether it is their size, their color, their texture or their shape and I marvel at the different strata’s that make beautiful patterns in them.  Even broken rocks have their inner beauty and it is often only when they are broken that you can see the magnificence within.  Some are smooth and easy to handle, beautiful colors and rare gems of beauty, while others are rough and hard, and have pieces which scratch and hurt me when I hold them in my hand.

That started me thinking about how stones and pebbles are like the people who we meet each day.  Some are easy to love and fit into our lives as if we have known them forever, but others have a prickly side and we are hurt by what they do and say.  Some may have been broken by situations, mental anguish, disease or disability.

Each of us are made up of many layers, just like the strata’s in the rocks that I love, and how often do we take the time to get to know the true person who is the combination of all these layers?  Sometimes we can only see the dirt and grime which hides the beauty within us, just like stones, every person has a beauty of their own.

Next time you meet someone think of the beauty of the layers that are inside, even if they are deeply hidden.

Prayer: I need your help, Gracious Lord, in the way I perceive those with whom I come in contact each day.  Don’t let me make snap judgments simply on the way they look or what they say. Allow me to look deeper and see their inner beauty and so appreciate them.  Amen.

by Terry Stead
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• God Works for the Good – by Roy Lessin

• God Works for the Good – by Charles Spurgeon

• I Had Three Basic Goals in Life 

The post Stones can be found at Thoughts about God.

“This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,“ The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:3

The wonderful time of Advent is upon us. A time when we eagerly anticipate and await the birth of Jesus.  Unfortunately, it is also a time of busyness when we rush around madly trying to find just the right present for a family member or friend.   We get impatient when we have to stand in queues to pay for our purchases and often become terse with shop assistants.  Smiles don’t seem to be as prevalent and there doesn’t seem to be enough time to stop and talk.  Each year the list for presents seems to grow as our children marry and grandchildren come along and so we worry about how much money we are spending and what will happen when we have to pay the credit card bill.  And so the meaning behind “waiting” fades into the background.

We should be waiting with expectation; watching with eagerness and a focus on just what this birth will bring – a fulfilling of God’s promise in Jesus Christ.  We should be reading God’s word and exploring what this tiny baby means to us, now and will mean to us in the future.  We need to be preparing the way for Jesus in our hearts.  His birth brings with it salvation and forgiveness of sins to all who confess their wrongdoings.  He brings eternal life and a place in God’s Kingdom for each one of us when we finally leave this earth.

So — rejoice as you anticipate, prepare and await this glorious birth.

Prayer:
Loving and Gracious God, we come before you this day full of excitement and anticipation awaiting the birth of your dear Son.  It is so hard to imagine that we mean so much that You would give us this most precious gift.  Help us at this time to slow down and dwell on the meaning of this wonderful event so that we can truly give thanks and worship You with our whole hearts.  Help us, also, to separate the secular meaning of Christmas (Xmas) from the real meaning and so make it CHRISTmas in our hearts as we wait.  Amen

by Terry Stead
Used by Permission

Further Reading

• Advent – by Gail Rodgers

• Advent – JOY by Gail Rodgers

• What is the Advent Season About? – by Gail Rodgers

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The post Waiting can be found at Thoughts about God.