It's all too easy to become so immersed in our social and economic systems, in the culture in which we live, that we end up believing that things have always been this way, and what's more, they always will be. Yet down through history, empires – indeed, whole civilizations – have come and gone. The most advanced, the most powerful … have disappeared leaving little more than ruins in their wake.

In his great work "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", Edward Gibbon writes: "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight."

Decadence leads to decline, decline to decay, and decay inevitably to destruction. Look around at the world today. What do you see? And to what extent have you convinced yourself that it'll always be this way? Writes John the Apostle …

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  ESV

God is eternal. The world is not. Everything that seems so alluring, so seductive today, is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever..

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

When life turns out nothing like you expected and God feels distant, find out what the Bible says to believers who are exhausted, confused, and tempted to give up.

Have you ever had that experience of discovering something amazing in a place you'd never have expected to find it? A jewel amidst the dross of life that changes everything?

As the story goes, back in the 9th century AD an Ethiopian goat herder noticed that his goats became energetic after eating red berries from a particular shrub. Curious, he tried them himself and felt invigorated. Monks later used the berries to stay awake during long prayers—marking the beginning of coffee's journey from wild plant to global beverage.

These days we take our coffee very much for granted, not giving a moment's thought to the fact that it was discovered by a bunch of goats!

God often hides treasures—not to withhold them, but to allow them to be found by the seeking heart. One moment of discovery can change everything. Jesus put it like this:

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  ESV

Where is the treasure of God's kingdom? Out in the open for everyone to see? No! It's hidden in a field. And so wondrous is that treasure that a person would sell everything just to have it.

God loves a seeking heart. And His Word is full of wonders; wonders that change everything; wonders so wonderful that they render worthless the trinkets and baubles of this world.

Perhaps that's why God seems so much closer when we have questions than when we think we have all the answers. Go! Go find the treasure!

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

I've done some dumb things in my life. Really, and I'm pretty sure that you have too – and later, we wear the consequences of those mistakes. The question is, though – how can you avoid making those same mistakes again?

I've said a few times over the last week and a half that I am a confirmed land lover. You give me solid ground beneath my feet any day over a luxury cruise. I love good old terra firma and it turns out we all do because we were made to have solid ground beneath our feet. And that's what we've been talking about recently on this program; solid ground.

Now there are things that we do from time to time that are just well, plain dumb. Now they never seem like it at the time but when you look at the consequences, when you look back through the consequences of those decisions with a benefit of 20/20 hindsight, there's only one word for them sometimes and that's dumb.

I've been there, you've been there, lets not kid ourselves. Okay, now that we've established the facts your honour, lets get back to those decisions and making sure we don't go there again, isn't that the point? Not repeating our mistakes and one of those mistakes is this; deluding ourselves that we are on solid ground, deluding ourselves into thinking that we can head off in our own direction, on our own and expect God to somehow tag along behind and provide solid ground along the way. Like I said; just plain dumb!

If you've been with us over this last week and a half, you'll know that we've been looking at the stories of some people, Hannah and Eli and their family's. Hannah was a woman with a lot of pain but who honoured God and Eli was a priest with position and prestige and not only did he do the exact opposite but as chief priest, in his role, he actually ended up misleading the whole of the nation of Israel. And today, we're going to take a look at how, not only did that have consequences for Eli and his sons but for the whole of Israel.

Remember Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, they were bad dudes. These two sons plundered the sacrifices of Gods people, they slept with prostitutes, like these were bad dudes and Eli allowed this to go on and didn't deal with it. And the executive summary of what God thought about them is in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 17. It says:

The sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord for they treated the offerings for the Lord with contempt.

And the central theme that pivot on which this whole story turns is in 1 Samuel, chapter 2, verse 30. It says:

God says, "I honour those who honour me and those who despise me I will treat with contempt.

That word "contempt" comes up again. And so this bad stuff is happening, the priests are doing the wrong thing and just as it always happens, one of life's storms blows in on Israel. The Philistines come in to attack them. We'll pick it up in chapter 4 of 1 Samuel:

Now the Israelites wet out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites were camped at Ebenezer and the Philistines were camped at Aphek. And the Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel. And as the battle spread, Israel soldiers returned to camp the elders of Israel said, "How come the Lord brought defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let's bring the Ark of the Lords Covenant from Shiloh so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." (That's a good idea)

So the people sent men down to Shiloh, they brought back the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord Almighty who was enthroned between the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the Ark of the Covenant of God. And when the Ark of the Lords Covenant came into the camp all of Israel raised up such a shout that the ground shook and hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "

When you’ve been strong for everyone else for too long, discover a Savior who understands your limits and a God who draws closest to those whose strength has run out.

Have you ever noticed how when the person next to you yawns, you too break out in an involuntary yawn? Why is that?

It's called social mirroring — our brains instinctively mimic the behaviours of others, especially those we're emotionally connected to. When you see someone yawn, mirror neurons in your brain fire as if you were yawning too. So, when your friend yawns, your brain says, "Me too!" — not out of tiredness, but connection.

And the same is true of our emotions. A nasty word or a foul look from someone ruins the rest of your day. Conversely, when even a complete stranger shows you an unexpected kindness, flashes you a smile, it can light up an otherwise dull day.

I happen to believe in Jesus. Not sure if you do, but I do. And one of the things He promises us is His joy. Knowing how much He loves us, what He's done for us, what eternity holds for us … man, why wouldn't you be full of joy?! Even, let me say, when the going's a tad on the tough side.

Psalm 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." (ESV)

The point God's making there is that the joy of what He's done for us rubs off on others. People notice when they see otherwise inexplicable joy in our countenance amidst the trials of life.

Call me crazy, but I think that what this world needs is more joy-filled Christians. Because when they see the deep, abiding joy in you, they'll say to themselves … Wow! The Lord's done great things for that one.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Sometimes we're so busy looking after good old number one, that we forget something. We forget that in fact, God is number one and one day, sooner or later, that reality will be the only reality.

I guess intuitively we understand that the things we say and do, the way we think and behave, well they have consequences. There's a link between cause and affect, we know that but oh how easy it is to delude ourselves in this area, to make excuses for ourselves, to live out our own selfish desires and pretend that, "well really, that, that cause and affect stuff applies to other people but not to me". You know what I'm talking about, we deny it, we deny it, we deny it and all along the warning signs are growing.

The storm clouds start to gather over the horizon, but sometimes it's not until that first clap of thunder, that we take any notice and then, so often, its too late. The storms gathered momentum and all we can do is brace ourselves for when it hits. We're going to spend some time today in that space, with a man called Eli because he was in exactly that situation and he just left it too late. Let's make no mistake, there is a definite link between cause and affect, especially as it turns out, in our relationship with God.

Last week we met a woman called Hannah, a woman that honoured God and a priest called Eli, a man with his two sons, who did the exact opposite even though he should have known better and, what I want to do today is have a look at them again. Hannah was a woman who was childless, she had the pain of the taunts of another wife and she pours out her heart to God and God gives her a son called Samuel. She honours God and she gives up Samuel into His service and God honours her by raising Samuel to replace Eli and become the priest to the nation of Israel.

Now what I want to do right now though is go and look at how God treats Eli and his sons because it's such a sharp contrast. Hannah honoured God and God honoured her, Eli didn't. Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were men who should have been shepherding Israel, they should have been bringing Israel close to their God. Instead, Hophni and Phinehas were plundering the sacrifices, sleeping with prostitutes, doing anything but honouring God. Now let's take a look at how God reacts to that, 1 Samuel chapter 3:

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare and there weren't many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the Ark of the Covenant was. Then the Lord called Samuel, Samuel answered "Here I am" and he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, you called me" but Eli said, "I didn't call you, go back, lie down". So Samuel went and lay down again. Again the Lord called, "Samuel" and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, you called me." "My son," said Eli, "I didn't call you, go back and lie down."

Now Samuel didn't know the Lord yet, the word of the Lord hadn't been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel a third time and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, you called me" and then Eli realised the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down and if God calls you again say, 'speak O Lord for your servant is listening."

So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there and calling as He had the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And then Samuel said, "Speak for your servant is listening." And the Lord said to Samuel, "See, I'm about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears, tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family from the beginning to end for I told h

When tension lives in your shoulders and sleep won’t come, God’s invitation to cast your worries on Him is more than a mental exercise, it’s a physical act of release for your whole self.

Life has a rather annoying habit of taking unexpected turns. Just when you least expect it, whoompa! You find yourself in a hole; a place where, in a million years, you'd never have expected to find yourself. What if I told you that that could be the biggest opportunity God will ever hand you?

Jacques Lusseyran was blinded at age seven in an accident. His world shifted overnight. But rather than retreat into despair, he developed extraordinary inner perception and resolve. During World War II, he became a leader in the French Resistance, organising one of the most effective underground newspapers against the Nazis.

Arrested and sent to Buchenwald, he survived despite the brutal conditions. His blindness, rather than a limitation, became a spiritual lens that sharpened his insight, courage, and compassion. In his memoir "And There Was Light" he writes, "I was not silent in my heart, and I discovered that joy can exist in darkness."

Romans 5:3-5 … we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (NRSV)

When life shifts unexpectedly, right there you have God's invitation to grow. When through suffering you endure, it without doubt builds your character. You walk with Jesus through that hellhole and, let me tell you, He will fill you with a certain, rock-solid hope as He pours His love into your heart by His Spirit.

Seriously, that place … is the greatest opportunity He'll ever hand you.

That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

It never ceases to amaze me at how good we are at deluding ourselves into thinking that our actions don't have consequences. We're really quite good at this you know. Truly.

Last week on the program we spent some time talking about the fact that when the storms of life hit, as they inevitably do, what we need is some solid ground beneath our feet. It's a scary place to be at, on a stormy ocean, we're not made for that, we're made to be on solid ground and we began looking at a story of some people, a woman called Hannah and her son Samuel and some priests, Eli, his sons Hophni and Phinehas.

Now Hannah, here was a woman who honoured God and God honoured her in return. These priests on the other hand, though they should have known better, they didn't honour God and as we'll see on the program today and the rest of this week, those guys reaped their just reward. And the reason we're looking at this story of these people is that when we're in the midst of a storm we so often lose our bearings, we so often lose sight of those things that really matter.

And for me, as I've spent some time in that story, it's well, its helped clarify some things, brought them into sharp focus and my hunch is, as we spend some time, during the course of this week, you might find the same too.

Now let's just briefly recap on this story. Hannah is a woman, she's married to Elkanah. Elkanah has two wives; Peninnah who has children and Hannah who doesn't and Peninnah constantly taunts Hannah about not having children, an incredibly painful thing. So Hannah goes and pours her heart out to God and you can read all about this in the first few chapters of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.

Hannah goes and pours her heart out to God in the temple and she discovers peace It's what always happens when we do that, and ultimately God blesses her and gives her a son. But Eli is the priest at the temple, he's the chief priest at the time and he mistakes what Hannah's doing, he thinks she's drunk and Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, well they're bad dudes. They'd been plundering sacrifices, they've been not honouring God, there's a real contrast between the two, between Hannah and her family on the one hand and Eli and his family on the other. Hannah the "nobody": Eli the chief priest.

See, that's the thing we so often miss in life. God is hidden, Gods invisible, we forget about Him, we go on living our lives and wondering why things are going from bad to worse and in the middle of this story, last week we stumbled across this verse, the verse when God was pronouncing His judgement on Eli and his sons. 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 30, God said:

Those who honour me I will honour and those who despise me will be treated with contempt.

See this is the kind of pivot on which this whole story turns and this week on the program we're going to look at how things turn out for Hannah and for Eli and there's a sharp contrast in their approach to God and I've got to tell you, there is a sharp contrast in how things turn out for both of them. It tells us a lot about God, it clarifies the confusion that we might have in the midst of our storm and you see when you get that clarity, when we finally see it from Gods perspective, we get our feet back on solid ground.

Well lets start today with Hannah, this woman with the pain of not having children and the taunts from the other wife and childless couples all over the world know how painful this is. So she goes to God, she pours out her heart, lets have a look at it again, 1 Samuel chapter 1, beginning at verse 9:

Once they'd finished eating and drinking at Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lords temple. In the bitterness of her soul, Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord and she made a vow saying, 'O Lord Almighty, if you would o