These meditations have been compiled by the Fikelela AIDS Team in the Diocese of Cape Town and the St Thomas' HIV/AIDS Task Team.
Some of these readings were included in the service at St. Thomas' on 23 November 2003.
We invite you to use them as meditations for action throughout a week, and let us allow them to grow us as those who 'overflow with hope.'
SUNDAY
'I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.' Jeremiah 31 : 17
Take time to contemplate the specific plans the Lord may have for you. Celebrate that His plans are always focused on a future and a hope.
MONDAY
'Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no
grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet will I rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights.
Habbakuk 3 : 17 - 19
The prophet gives the assurance that our faith in God is not dependent on good experiences in this life, but that even in times when all else fails around us, God the Lord is our strength.
TUESDAY
My help comes from the Lord
who made heaven and earth
Psalm 121
In the midst of need or crisis, the psalmist responds as other people and looks to the hills for help, to the homes of the gods of the world. Then comes the question, 'BUT where does my help come from?'
WEDNESDAY
Because of the Lord's great love
we are not consumed,
For his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him,
To the one who seeks him;
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3 : 22 - 26
Seek Him and hope in Him throughout this day.
THURSDAY
'We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus . . . Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.'
From 2 Corinthians 4 : 14 to 5 : 10
Take some time in this day to focus on what is unseen, the purpose, goal and glory which is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.
FRIDAY
'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.'
Romans 15 : 13
Let us seek opportunities to trust him throughout the day, that in the power of his Spirit our hope may overflow to those around us.
SATURDAY
Luke 10 : 25 - 35
The familiar story of the Good Samaritan asks two kinds of questions:
Am I prepared to bring hope to those who might be seen as outcasts?
Am I prepared to receive the gift of hope from them?
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