The urgency of hope.
When gifts like prophecy have passed away, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, three things will remain; faith, hope and love. Obviously faith and love must remain because without them we cannot please God or grow to be like him, but hope? How does hope make it into the big three?
Faith and Fate
“I was pouring out my troubles to a wise friend. My professional career had hit a brick wall, organisational politics meant I could no longer stay in my job. My face just didn’t fit anymore. It felt unfair and I saw no remedy. My friend looked at me shrewdly. ‘Are you going to be a victim or a victor?’”
‘The Hoping’ a prophetic word.
“In the run up to our event ‘The Hoping’, our dear friend Wayne challenged me to prepare a prophetic word to share. The result was actually a two part word and a blessing. This is the portion of the word I shared, while brilliant musicians prophesied right alongside me on the keyboard and drums, during one of the events. I hope that a line, a thought, some part of this will stir and encourage you today.”
‘The Remembering’ a prophetic word.
“God spoke a two part prophetic word to me during our preparation for ‘The Hoping’ in May 2025. This word, ‘The Remembering’ was His answer when I posed the question: ‘what comes before hoping, God?’.” Roanna
The case of the prophet who didn’t prophesy
There is no blueprint for prophets in the bible. There’s Jonah who runs from God, Moses who doesn’t want to speak and Amos who flatly denies being a prophet. There’s Jeremiah who is told to prophecy but also told that no-one will listen, Ezekiel who speaks to dry bones and David who sings his prophecies. Then there is Abraham, the prophet who didn’t prophesy.
Did you miss God in the battle?
A friend’s recent labour story provoked me to think back on my own and, in doing so, I realised something. I had missed something crucial in the battle.
The good God problem
Something funny happens when I talk to people about our current life. When I talk about how hard it can be, how angry I’ve been at God, how I know he is refining me, but how much it hurts every single day.
Coronavirus: a prophetic perspective
Namely: a reinstating of worship, healing and health to families and a transformation of homes to become places of miracles, of supernatural kindness, love and grace.
Faith in the face of a fight – Lucy Grimble on her song ‘Goliath’ and the God story behind it.
Lucy Grimble, London-based worship leader, talks to us about worship. Read on for a glimpse of how she partners with God to bring songs from heaven…
A fearless pregnancy
I met our children long before I got pregnant. It’s not the norm for many, I admit, but I’ve been practicing listening prayer for a long time now and sometimes that means meeting Jesus at a river or walking through a field with him, other times that means him asking me if I’d like to meet my children while we sit on a bench.
A straightforward guide to training your mind
Our minds are a battlefield. What goes on in them changes the course of our lives. Temptations, deceptions and wrong attitudes try to invade our thinking. If we consistently reject them, they will retreat. If we welcome them in, or just offer no resistance, they will dig in, hurting us again and again.
“I’m a single Christian woman in my thirties, here’s how I do it with joy”
I’ve been the third wheel more times than I care to count, I’ve countless times been asked why I’m still not married, I’ve endured the pitying, head-tilting looks…I’ve been there.
Four ways to shift your perspective and strengthen yourself in the Lord
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” I know that’s a brazen theft of a classic opening line, but for me it describes the situation we are in.
Did you celebrate Halloween over the weekend? Here’s why we didn’t
Jesus warned us that as the end of the age approaches, as the gospel is preached to all nations, the church will be targeted for persecution and deception. Our enemy knows his time is short and is doing everything he can to kill, maim and destroy not just Christians, but every part of God’s creation. Life, joy and peace he hates, and will attack until he meets his end.
Kingdom hunger: a study on fasting
It’s obvious why fasting isn’t popular. Deliberately not satisfying our hunger for hours or days at a time does not come easily. At the same time we know that Jesus, our example in all things, fasted and expected that we would too. The result can be that we see fasting as just an “ought to”. But fasting is much more than not eating. And while it will always demand self-discipline, if we see it against a wider biblical backdrop we will fast with a greater understanding and sense of purpose.
The battle is the Lord’s, but you’ll still have to fight it
This need to fight through to victory is not an alternative to trusting God, but the evidence of it.
Who even am I? And other urgent questions asked by a new mum during a pandemic
Over the last six months nearly every part of my identity has been challenged, destroyed or removed.
Being discipled through family
I remember feeling very alone in the dark and when I started to recognise the light of God, like a lighthouse beam searching for me, I thought how long a way back to Him I had to go. Without realising I had travelled deep into the darkness, His light, though warm, felt like a long way away from where I had spent most of my life.
The one question you need to answer before becoming a church leader
So, you want to lead. Do you like having people round? The early churches needed people who would keep a caring and compassionate eye on them. Paul responds to this need and in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8, he gives practical guidance about who to appoint. In both cases, being hospitable is a prerequisite.
A call to creativity
So, in my deconstructed state, I come to looking ahead, to what God might be building in the aftermath. I by no means have the answers. But, I do believe God is calling His people to creativity. In this next season, where so much rebuilding is required; creativity, innovation and craftsmanship will be indispensable.