“I am hopeful!”

Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Mary’s, and visiting friends, 

   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

How are you? I wonder if you can say it as a whisper within or as an internal thought. The year is drawing to an end. Where did the time go? It's very easy for us to look back, and with that come all manner of emotions.
This month, I pause to encourage you with Hope. The hope I write to you about
is not wishful thinking or optimism. It's not the hope that I may have for
Liverpool FC to win the Premier League, as great as that would be.
Hope has been defined as: “A desire of some good, accompanied with
at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable”.
Hope can be an expectation and anticipation that rests in what we believe,
a hope in who we believe.

The Christian Hope is in God; a God who is unchanging, who is Faithful.

The psalmist, in the midst of personal pain and a nation in pain and turmoil, had every reason to succumb to what they were feeling and going through: Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! (Psalm 42:11). I’m sure you have seen that we can’t put our hope in people, in the economy, or even in ourselves.

All will eventually fail us, but there is One who will never fail us, who by his very Nature remains constant and good, and that is Jesus Christ. This is the hope I speak of to you, the Christian Hope in Jesus, to keep going, not
to give up! It is this hope that has led early Christians and many today
to look forward to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. (Titus 2:13-14). 

My Brother and Sisters, I don’t know what you are facing or have faced as you look back at the year so far. I say to you: do not give up; put your hope in God. Keep going because Hope in God will never lead to disappointment. Maybe youdon’t know where to go for this hope – then let me introduce you to God in Christ Jesus. 

As always, I encourage you to visit our website, attend your local church,
and get to know Jesus – the Hope of the World. 

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.
 Rev Funmilayo