Yet there are things which can give us some hope, with the biggest of all being that the rollout of a vaccine. This gives us some light at the end of the tunnel. It gives us hope that in 2021 our lives can start to return to some sort of normality.

Follow the star

In the very first page of the Bible, all we are told about the stars is that God made the stars also (Gen 1.16), as the King James version puts it. Quite possibly the biggest understatement of all time!

To the naked eye on a clear night, away from light pollution, you may be lucky enough to see several thousand stars, but in our galaxy alone there are estimated to be 100 thousand million stars. It’s such a huge number that our brains really can’t comprehend it at all.

Yet despite the understated way that their creation is portrayed to us, it’s clear that they have a huge significance in God’s word.

We’re told that wise men (or Magi) from the East followed a star which led them to the infant Jesus. Clearly to them this star was something very special and they followed it expecting a King.

…after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2 v 1-2

Despite December 2020’s news headlines being dominated by Covid, there is a once-in-a-lifetime event happening in the skies above us, the conjunction of 2 planets, Jupiter and Saturn, which look so close together from the perspective of us here on Earth that they look like a very bright star.

This event tends to only happen every few hundred years, and in fact it can be argued that this event may well have been the star that the wise men saw and followed.

Whether that is true or not, for me, the wonder of the night sky points to a God that created the immense complexity of the universe, and yet cares deeply about us humans living on this planet.

What were they looking for?

We don’t know for sure why the wise men were so intent on wanting to follow the star. There are suggestions that they were influenced by the prophecies of Daniel, who became famous in both the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires whilst the Jews were in captivity there several hundred years earlier.

Another prophecy though that definitely pointed forward several hundred years to this event came from Isaiah.

…nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising…all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

Isaiah 60 v 3 & 6

The light of this bright star would have been talked about by everyone, but it was nothing compared to the metaphorical light of the young boy Jesus, who had just been born. He was to be the king of the Jews, yet he himself during his ministry said:

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

John 12 v 46

Jesus – the light of the world

When he was just 8 days old, Jesus was taken to the temple by Mary & Joseph, and there he was brought before a man called Simeon, who recalling the words of Isaiah 49, held him in his arms and said:

…for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.

Luke 2 v 30-32

It is appropriate that Christmas (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) takes place in the middle of winter, when it feels so dark.

It is only in the light of Jesus Christ that God’s plan and purpose and the promise of salvation have been revealed to a world which is currently in the darkness of suffering.

He was a man who fulfilled the will of God – he died, but he rose again. More than that, we’re promised that he will come back to earth, not as a bright star at night, but as a shining sun on a glorious new morning.

The post 2020: Hope in a star appeared first on Search for Hope.

I don’t know about you, but I got really confused about Covid advice! Every
announcement seemed to contradict the last one.

The truth is, nobody really knows how to deal with something that we have
never seen before. The government and scientists are doing their best to
make sense of a world that has changed beyond recognition.

Planning ahead? Forget it! If you travelled to Spain recently, you were at the
sharp end of that problem… the situation really does change minute by
minute.

How does that make you feel?

Confused, insecure, maybe a bit scared?

But God knows exactly what is happening and what will happen next. He knew about all this long before the first person got sick.

“…I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done…”

Isaiah 46: 9-10

A lesson from history

Back in around 600BC, a man called Jeremiah was at rock bottom. He was in a besieged city, and he knew that soon it would be destroyed. God had told him to pass this information on to the rulers, but they saw him as a traitor and put him in jail. Yet God was able to assure him that although his nation would be taken captive, they would eventually come back and rebuild the city.

“I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul….Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.”

Jeremiah 32: 41-42

Hope for the future

Jeremiah did not live to see this happen, but he knew that God would not
break His promise, and Jeremiah himself will see the ultimate fulfilment when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth. Death is not the end for people who trust in God – He will raise them to life in a world where these worries will no longer be a problem.

That is what keeps me positive in these uncertain times.

The post Not another Covid Update! appeared first on Search for Hope.

“Worry” can be an an unwelcome guest and if we knew how to be rid of it then we would.

So being told to “not worry” can be infuriating.

However, there are people in life who can tell us not to worry and it makes us feel better. We feel better either because they have the knowledge to explain why our problem isn’t what we thought it was or, if there is a problem, they can fix it.

For example:

A crack has appeared across the ceiling – is the house falling down? The surveyor says it’s just the new house settling in. Worry over.

You’re at the doctor’s for a check up. “Nothing to worry about” she says.

A child knocks their drink across the dinner table. “It was an accident” says Dad, “don’t worry”.

Immunity

The world can be a traumatic place and none of us are immune from tragedy, upset and troubles in life.

However, when God created the earth he gave us all an opportunity to live in a very particular way. We have a choice, every day, to live a life connected, or separated from God. 

Jesus, God’s only son, lived a perfect life as an example to us.

He also allowed himself to die, a perfect sacrifice. 

Why? 

God needed just one person to elevate themselves above hatred, impurity and selfishness, and instead reflect his character and spirit… 

God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are.

Galatians 5: 22-26 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Through living an obedient life Jesus was worthy to pay the debt of our weakness and selfishness. He was raised to everlasting life as a consequence.

We have the same opportunity.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3: 26-27

With the barrier of death removed we can look forward to Jesus return to this earth as King, ruling perfectly, in fairness and with the Truth of God.

For this is what the Lord says—

He who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.”

Isaiah 45: 18 New International Version (NIV)

It is God’s intention that our earth is filled with people living a life that imitates His character (Galatians 5).

And when we know that that life is a possibility we have the freedom to see past the challenges in front of us now and focus on preparing ourselves for the Kingdom to come.

So when Jesus says “don’t worry”, it carries weight because he suffered terribly, but he did so to provide a better way for us. He has the experience, knowledge and power to save us – and help us see that our worry isn’t what we thought it was – and offers us the Kingdom. “He lives”, waiting at the side of God, to return.

In The Gospel of Luke, Jesus empathises with our experience of worry, and reminds his followers (including us) that his Father’s loves and values us and is pleased to give us the Kingdom… 

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12: 22-32

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We have all experienced times when things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes things turn out better than expected, sometimes they go horribly wrong. Either way, we can’t always control what happens in our lives.

Jesus could look ahead, knowing what was going to happen in his life. It didn’t look good. He told his disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day”.

Suffering, rejection, being killed… imagine looking ahead and knowing that these things were going to happen to you. No wonder his closest friends didn’t want to hear about it.

Jesus knew he would die

Jesus looked even further ahead than his death. He knew that he would be raised to life on the third day. That would not make his death and the cruelty he experienced during his trial any less painful, but he was willing to go through it for a purpose. Although he knew he was going to die, he had absolute confidence that God would raise him from the grave.

As 1 Corinthians 15 vv 21 & 22 tell us,

..since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

During the time Jesus was on earth, he raised a few people from the dead, but they didn’t live forever. He was simply giving a foretaste of much better things to come. He said,

…for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

John 5 vv 28-29

Our plans might not count for much, but God’s plans for us are totally reliable.

I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.

Ecclesiastes 3 v 14

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Think of the world’s greatest philosophers and you might have the same mental picture as I do – an old guy with a long grey beard sitting on a boulder in a wood with a quill and some parchment, pondering the Meaning of Life.  It’s a question that the human race has been fascinated with for a long time, because the more you look at the world, the less it seems to make sense. Unlike animals, this lack of obvious purpose bothers humans.

What is the point in life if it ends up just being a cycle of non-existence, followed by complete dependence on our parents, then adulthood, dependence again when we are old, and finally death?  What did we actually achieve, and will it last beyond our death anyway?

The Answers

It’s questions like these that the Bible had already posed and answered long ago.  The whole book of Ecclesiastes was written by someone observing the way life runs and thinking “it’s just emptiness and grasping after the wind” (paraphrasing Ecclesiastes 1:14).  The book works through several different scenarios explored in order to find happiness and purpose, and finds none except the conclusion of the whole matter: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Isaiah also weighs in on the discussion.  In his prophecy, God makes it very clear that He created the Earth, and that “He did not create it empty, He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18).  God is declaring that there is a purpose to our existence, and the “earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

The World Makes Sense!

You see, a belief in a God explains things that don’t make sense about our world.  Once we put God and eternity into the picture, we can see a purpose beyond our otherwise short, pointless life cycles.  We can understand that this life isn’t ‘it’; it’s just our probationary time.

It’s our time to pick a path and try our best to serve God, so that we might be part of filling the world with God’s glory in the future.  Because of this hope, we can be comforted that even if our life doesn’t work out as we wish, there’s something greater worth hoping for.

Want to hear more on this topic? Listen to the podcast below.

The post Life’s Big Questions: What is the meaning of life? appeared first on Search for Hope.

Professional athletes train and compete with one clear goal in mind – to achieve first prize. Just as Olympians compete for the prize of a gold medal, so too followers of Christ are striving for a prize. This prize is not made of temporal materials such as gold, silver or bronze; rather it is eternal and incorruptible. They are racing for eternal life in God’s Kingdom on earth.

The Prize of Eternal Life

The Bible makes it clear that those who have been obedient to God and His Son and have run the race will be granted eternal life. Those who race for Christ are hoping for an eternal and everlasting prize rather than a temporal and perishable medal: 

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

God’s Kingdom on Earth

Where will recipients of eternal life spend their everlasting days? The Bible makes it plain that the dwelling place for those who are granted eternal life will be on earth in God’s Kingdom:

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

This passage is speaking of the future establishment of God’s Kingdom and its expansion to fill the whole earth. Daniel, one of the books of the Bible, speaks of the kingdoms of men making way for the Kingdom of God:

“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever”. (Daniel 2:44)

Quite simply, the present world order will be swept aside to make way for God’s righteous Kingdom.

What Will it be Like?

The world as we currently know it is plagued with problems such as wars, famines, natural disasters and disease. As such it is perhaps not the most appealing place to spend eternity. The Bible gives a picture of a world free from these problems in God’s Kingdom: 

“…they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

Eternal life spent with God on a perfect earth free from its current problems, as described in these Bible passages, is surely a prospect not to be missed!

The return of Jesus

The bible tells us that Jesus will return from heaven to set up God’s Kingdom, beginning in Jerusalem: 

“The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30)

While we know from Bible prophecy that God’s Kingdom will be established at the return of Jesus to the earth – and that time appears to be near – no one knows exactly when it will be:

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

Part 1 Part 2

The post The Race for your Life (part 3) – The Prize appeared first on Search for Hope.

Becoming a successful athlete, however, doesn’t come easily, and so those who pursue a career in this field must channel their passion into the drive to lay the groundwork for their success – training, often for many years, to peak physical and mental condition.

A large part of an athlete’s preparation will focus on learning and studying the rules and guidelines of their sport so that they can compete fairly. In the same way, we must prepare ourselves for the ‘Race for Our Lives’ by training our minds to live as God wishes us to. 

Levelling the Playing Field

We know that every sport has its rules, and each athlete is bound to compete according to them. These exist to make sure that each athlete is aware of what is expected of them and so that all can compete fairly, having the same opportunity to attain the prize.

The phrase, a “level playing field”, might come to mind.

This provides a good summary of what regulations are intended to do. It would be unfair, for instance, if a single rower was placed in competition against a team of two; or asked to row a greater distance than his competitor. There are therefore, guidelines in place, dictating not only the number of people allowed to compete in each event, or how far they must row, but also on the competitors’ age, nationality and even weight.

Every aspect of the sport is covered, from how it should start, to how the prize should ultimately be gained.

Guidance from God

The idea of setting out a series of guidelines, however, is not a man-made idea; in fact, we find this in God’s teachings to us in the Bible:

“If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:5)

The Bible uses the analogy of an athlete competing according to the rules, to illustrate the need for us to follow the guidelines set out for us by God in order to be thoroughly equipped to ‘press towards the goal’ (Philippians 3:14).

The goal that we are striving towards is everlasting life in God’s future Kingdom which is to be established upon the earth, and all that we need to be thoroughly equipped with is provided for us in God’s Word – the Bible.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

God details his commandments to the children of Israel in the Old Testament, but Jesus goes on to build on these in the New Testament, identifying the most important commandments as:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

All of the commandments of God can be fulfilled in our lives by following the principles which Jesus lays out.

This brings us back to the idea that in the ‘Race for our Life’ many winners can be crowned. We are not asked to compete against (and defeat) the other athletes; but rather to love our neighbour and support each other to the finish line.

Part 1 Part 3

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“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Running a race for your life sounds very overwhelming. Indeed, it seems an odd thing to have your life depend on how well you run. However, the race we are talking about has a very different prize to a gold medal.

Your life really does depend on you entering this race, as it will benefit you in a much more permanent way than any short term physical activity. This race has a prize worth aiming for!

 “…I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day…” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Getting Started

So, what do you need to do to get ready? First, you have to start by training. Nobody would participate in a sporting event without at least some form of training.  We cannot follow God and live a life pleasing to Him without doing likewise.

We have to stop living a life of apathy and make a conscious choice to make Him part of our lives. 

“I know your works, that you are neither hot nor cold. I could wish that you were hot or cold.” (Revelation 3:15)

In preparing for an event, an athlete will start regular training; will re-evaluate their diet and their social life will change as the training becomes more demanding or more frequent. The event becomes their absolute focus. Every decision they make will be reached knowing that they have training to complete or food preparation to get done.

We need to be as equally focused on God. Christ talks regularly about having a close relationship with God.

This means that we should think of God first when we have something to worry about, something that is upsetting us, or something to celebrate. Simply offering a prayer every time we experience one of these emotions will help bring our focus back to God.

Part 2 Part 3

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Someone told me recently that they were quite comfortable with not being a follower of God because they didn’t think that the reward that was on offer was something that attracted them.

As Christadelphians we believe the Bible tells us about a future paradise – God’s kingdom on earth.  But what is that? What does it mean? What IS on offer?

In simple terms, God’s Kingdom is a time when all the people who have tried to follow God in their lives will be made immortal and God will be visibly in charge.  But that’s actually a pretty difficult thing to visualise.

The Bible helps us to understand the Kingdom by describing it to us in comparison with our current world.  By showing us what it WON’T be. I’ve picked 3 things to talk about, but there’s so much more in the Bible if you pick it up and read it!

Hunger

The Kingdom won’t be a place where there is food inequality.  No more will some countries struggle with obesity whilst others deal with malnutrition.  Instead Psalm 72 tells us that food will grow everywhere – even on the tops of the mountains!  Isaiah 35 talks about even the deserts blossoming. For anyone who has seen or experienced real hunger, this prospect paints the Kingdom in a wonderful light.

War

The Kingdom won’t be a place of war and conflict.  Micah 4 talks about a time when people will ‘beat their swords into ploughshares’ because there will simply be no more use for weapons. The same passage tells us that the nations will not learn war anymore. Army training will be a thing of ancient history. We only have to compare this picture to the pictures of countries like Syria, where thousands of homes, workplaces and lives have been ripped apart by fighting, to want a world where peace has the upper hand!

Pain

The Kingdom won’t be a place where grief, misery, heartbreak or sadness belong.  Currently we are seeing more and more people struggling with depression, in addition to the many who have loved and lost and are going through difficult times.  In contrast, Revelation tells us ”God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” and that there shall be no more pain. Even when we are going through tough times in our lives now, we know that there is a future for us where pain and sadness are gone.  That’s surely a bigger comfort than any empty words about ‘time healing’.

Wanting the Kingdom

So what’s on offer?  A world that is exactly the opposite of all that’s wrong with Now.  A world with no hunger, war or pain. And that sounds to me like something I can hardly wait for!

The post What’s so GOOD about the Kingdom? appeared first on Search for Hope.

On another level, some hopefuls have even requested that their bodies be frozen after death, with the conviction that someday, medical science will have advanced so far that we can be brought back to life!

It seems we are obsessed with extending our lifespan and finding ways to defy death. But have we really considered what it would be like to live forever?

Living forever in the world today

Take a moment to consider what it would be like if today, we cracked the code to immortality. No doubt your first reaction would be pure excitement – an eternity to complete everything on our bucket list, achieve all our goals and ambitions. But how long would that excitement last?

We often talk about ‘the state that the world is in’ – corruption within governments, wars, famine and poverty. Despite our best efforts, we have yet to find the perfect solution to any of these problems, and undoubtedly never will, even if we were given an eternity.

Fortunately, God has a much better plan for the Earth – a plan which we have the opportunity to be a part of…

A new world

The Bible describes a time when Jesus will return to the Earth and set up God’s kingdom:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. (Matthew 25:31)

The description we are given of the kingdom which Christ will rule over is so very different from the world we are familiar with today:

Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:40)

With righteousness he (Jesus) shall judge the poor…the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb…they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. (Isaiah 11:3-9)

What a stark contrast: a king who judges without corruption, complete peace on the Earth, no more death – even those who have already died are brought back to life! Who wouldn’t take up the offer of everlasting life in a world with no pain or suffering? It certainly seems an offer worth considering…

Want to know more about the journey to everlasting life? Check out this article on Baptism

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