Real Hope Conversations

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!
    Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’ JUDGES 5:12 (NIV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

LESSONS ON LEADERSHIP THROUGH DEBORAH

A study by Heidi Wysman

Israel had many judges, but one of the memorable and prominent ones was a woman named Deborah. Not only was she notable because she was a woman, a mother and grandmother, but also because she was a woman who knew the Lord.

Deborah was a prophetess who knew battle strategy, and she became a renowned judge and leader in Israel. We see through her story in Judges 4 and 5 that she had gained great prominence, distinction and importance on her own merits of character. Her love for, and faithfulness in, her Lord was one that brought her into her destiny of greatness. God is no respecter of persons for He gives equal and unconditional love to all as He searches out the matter of the heart, male or female.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. REVELATION 7:16–17 (NIV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

HOPE

Hope is called the anchor of the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a ‘wish’, (I wish that such-and-such would take place) but rather it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made. - RC Sproul

Hope is a word that Christians and non- Christians use every day. In moments of sadness, grief and loss, hope is the word used to encourage and spur people on. But we know that hope has an eternal meaning.

It’s more than just a word of encouragement or a wish but is a real certainty that God holds our future in His hands. It’s a hope and strength anchored in Christ.

This week, together we’ll dive into the understanding of the eternal meaning of hope and how this hope we hold in our hearts has the power to impact a world in search of it. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ’It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. ACTS 1:6-9 (NIV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

ACTS

The body is God’s temple, but we are to worship God, not the temple. - MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

 The Temple. Throughout the Bible it’s a location where God’s desire to meet and be with His people is realised. However, with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, a new temple was established within us, His people.

What does it mean to be God’s temple? How are we then to live our lives and how does that mean we are to commune together as brothers and sisters in Christ?

We trust that, as you explore the temple both old and new, that the desire of God to be in relationship with you is not an afterthought but a desire that was born in the garden of Eden and still continues thousands of years later.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. JAMES 4:8a (ESV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

VISION

 Knowledge is love and light and vision. HELEN KELLER

The year 2023 is here. While many people start the year with resolutions, we wanted to start the year with vision: the vision that God has for His people and the calling He has placed on every one of our lives.

Let’s start the year not with things to fix or improve, but with the vision to see past the ordinary day-to-day and to look to the future God has set for us. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. PSALM 9:1 (NIV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

ALIGNING OUR HEART WITH GOD’S

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. PROVERBS 4:23 (ESV)

The end of a year brings time to reflect upon all that was and all that God has done, and to start to prepare and hope for all that is to come in the new year.

It’s also a time for us to think about where our heart is when it comes to God and His will and purpose for our life; to perform a heart check, if you will – to put things in place and align our heart to Him as we step into a new year.

Over the next week, we’ll spend time reflecting on our heart when it comes to gratitude, our trust in His plan, where our joy is found, when a season ends, and practical ways to continue to cultivate a heart that aligns with our heavenly Father’s heart for us and His people.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Jesse was the father of David the king. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen; from David to the Babylonian deportation, fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian deportation to the Messiah, fourteen generations. MATTHEW 1:6a,11,16,17 (AMP)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

THE JESUS GENEALOGY: WHAT’S THE POINT?

A Series by Bob Mendelsohn

 In this series Bob Mendelsohn, national director of Jews for Jesus here in Australia, opens God’s Word to us from a very unlikely source, the genealogy of Jesus as shown in Matthew, the first chapter. In fact, the entire first chapter speaks Gospel truths clearly and Bob could unpack those as well.

Let’s be honest… most of the time when we see a long list of names, most of which we cannot even pronounce, we glance at the names and skip to the end. Is that what you do? Bob will show us why Matthew spends so much ink on this list of 42 generational names, why he leaves out so many generations, and why he, and only he in the entire Bible, includes 5 women in the list. What is the Gospel author saying by saying and by not saying?

You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to appreciate the stories that unfold. You just must enjoy story itself. Don’t we all love a good story? Whether in the form of a movie or a great novel… and Matthew understands that. Each reference conjures up images and dialogue, most of all, story. Let’s see where those stories take us. And learn what God has to say to us as 21st century people.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Silent night (silent night)
Holy night (holy night)
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace - Silent Night by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

O COME LET US ADORE HIM

 The great challenge left to us is to cut through all the glitz and glam of the season that has grown increasingly secular and commercial, and be reminded of the beauty of the One who is Christmas. - BILL CROWDER

Every year, during the Christmas season (and at times outside of the season) Christmas carols can be heard on high rotation in shopping centres, on the radio, in homes and churches. Songs that are so familiar that friends and family who are not Christians still know the lyrics and the melodies. These Christmas Carols have become so familiar in society that sometimes it can seem like we are singing them by rote, forgetting the message of the Gospel that inspired the words we are singing.

As we get closer to Christmas and the celebration of our Saviour King, we hope that through this week’s devotionals you’ll hear some of your favourite Christmas carols anew and will have time to reflect on the lyrics of these songs that bring joy, hope and life in the Christ. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends, and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. DEUTERONOMY 16:17 (ESV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

ALL IN

He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a ‘Christian’ with being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd. - FRANCIS CHAN

The decision to accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour is not one to be made lightly. God does not ask us to only follow Him when times are good. He does not ask us to only obey Him when we feel like it. He does not ask for half of our heart. No, He asks for all of us. For us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Him.

What does a life that is ‘all in’ for Christ look like?

This week, through the following five devotions, we will be looking at just that. How we can live lives that are ‘all in’ for Christ and how can we encourage one another as we run this race of faith? 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   EPHESIANS 3:20-21 (NIV) 

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

ABUNDANT PROVISION

 We have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the bank, not because I have skill and wit with which to win my bread, but because the Lord is my Shepherd. - CHARLES SPURGEON

 It’s so easy to be exhausted by the world – by the confusion, chaos, the constant striving for more, the constant push for success. In the constant noise, it’s easy to lose sight of all we have to be thankful for – all the things our amazing Father has provided to us over and above what we deserve.

As you go through this week’s devotionals, use this time to stop. Take a break from the noise around you and meditate on our Saviour King and the abundance of His care, love and provision for you and your life. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share real hope with your family, friends and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au)

When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,  ’I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, “If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”’ 1 KINGS 2:1–4 (ESV)

Send the Real Hope team a message
Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2’s app, Facebook or Instagram.

FINDING HOPE THROUGH THE LIFE OF DAVID – Part 2

A series by Heidi Wysman

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’’’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 2 SAMUEL 5:1–4 (ESV)

David was anointed king three times. First by Samuel the prophet (1 Samuel 16:1–13), then anointed king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:1–4), and then over all Israel. He was anointed king at the tender age of 17, but only sat on the throne at 30. That’s a long gap but during those years David learned how to handle crises, love his enemies, honour authority, do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with his God. It was an important refining and training time. By the time David became king of Israel, his security was firmly rooted in God’s goodness and justice. God had proved Himself to be faithful time and again in the past, and now David’s confidence in God was unshakable.

David was the king to which all the future kings of Israel would be compared. Our God raises up leaders and will use everything we walk through to grow us in to the position He’s calling us in to.

PRAYER: Lord help me to be patient while I’m waiting. To trust You even during moments when I feel negative emotions. Deepen my understanding of what You’re doing in my life. Stretch my faith and refine me in the midst of the wait, just as You did for David. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.