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Dear Church Family

We are at the threshold of a New Year filled with great opportunities and encounters. What lies ahead of 2023 has already been planned for you and me to enter into, and we need to do this with anticipation and hope fueled by faith in Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

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 on 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

If one were to ask people today about their hope for the future, the answer, as a rule, would be that it looks rather dim. Most people see a hopeless darkness. Their experiences have taught them that their many different hopes have been dashed through time. Unrest, discouragement, fear, despair, and evil suspicions have entered and filled their minds with darkness and all kinds of restless thoughts instead of the joy of hope that bears them up in battle.

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken” – Psalm 62:5-6

Only in God can our restless soul become quiet. We will not be put to shame in the hope that comes from Him. We are immovable in our hope and joy if He alone is our rock, salvation, and defence. In this defence, we have peace and are well protected.

As we look into what is before, let the assurance of His promises undergird us and draw us to step out of the boat, take steps of faith, and look out for possibilities yet to be realised. We have gone through a few years of uncertainty where certain changes we have now become accustomed to were never thought possible. Our reactions to all this have been varied and may have caused us to make some unthinkable decisions. Rest assured that our Heavenly Father continues to assure you that He has a good plan. That reality and truth have never changed from eternity past.

The God of hope is our true Father and Comforter. He desires to give us not only a little bit but abundantly. He will fill us with all joy and peace. We can open ourselves to this abundant fullness through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. We will not be put to shame in our hope. When Paul wrote about partaking of a glory that will not vanish, he said, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold…”

Now we have the hope of partaking in the most precious promises and thereby becoming partakers of divine exploits.

“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature….”

Wishing you a 2023 filled with bold exploits as you partner with our great God, and may we reflect the heart of Jesus in all we say and do.